At least 20 schoolchildren and one adult were killed when a bus crashed in eastern Uganda on Thursday evening, authorities said. The bus, operated by King David Junior School, was returning from an educational trip to Sipi Falls when the accident occurred near Chekwatit village in Kapchorwa district.

Preliminary investigations indicate the driver lost control, causing the bus to veer off the road, hit a large stone, and overturn, according to the Uganda Police Force. Three other adults and more than a dozen children were injured. Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi stated that over 28 children are being treated in hospitals, nine in critical condition.

The adult killed is believed to be the school's founder and head. Residents arrived before official rescue teams and began carrying victims from the wreckage; some survivors were taken to hospitals in pick-up trucks, footage from the Uganda Red Cross Society showed.

The government announced an immediate suspension of all school trips and excursions until further notice. Uganda's roads are among the most dangerous in a region with the world's worst safety record, with crashes often linked to speeding, poorly maintained vehicles, and bad road conditions. Earlier this month, 14 people died in a bus-truck collision in northern Uganda, and in October, 46 were killed in a multi-vehicle crash on the Kampala-Gulu highway.

Source: www.aljazeera.com