This archive report was first published on 8 August 2020.
On the night of August 8, 2020, a devastating fuel tanker accident occurred along the Bungoma-Malaba highway in Teso North Sub County, leaving one driver dead and two others injured.
A fuel tanker lost control and caught fire, hitting three other trucks that were part of a long queue of over 10 kilometers waiting for COVID-19 clearance certificates.
Teso North Sub County Police Commander Wilson Muraya explained that the incident happened shortly after 11 pm, catching most drivers off guard.
One of the drivers was rushed to Teso North Sub County hospital with burns on his hands and shoulders, but hospital authorities reported that he was out of danger.
The driver of the fuel tanker, whose charred remains were taken to Kocholya hospital mortuary, was not as fortunate.
According to eyewitness Majaliwa Munao, his truck, which was transporting a container to Kampala from Mombasa, was also burnt, and he was lucky to be alive.
As of 2 am on Saturday morning, firefighters from Bungoma County were still battling the fire in one of the containers, while police were working to clear the road for traffic.
The incident highlighted the need for a fire engine in Teso North, which has been without one since the Busia County Assembly shot down a finance bill that proposed allocating funds for a fire engine, a Disaster Management Center, and lighting arresters.
