Passenger dies aboard Gateway bus

Soroti, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | There was panic on a Gateway bus registration number UAL 770L, on Thursday afternoon following the death of one of the passengers in transit. The deceased has been identified as Oscar Ocen, a resident of Okoya in Abim district.

Ocen has been working with Saracen Security company and was stationed in Kajjansi along Entebbe road. He fell ill and was given a sick leave of 21 days. Ocen boarded the Kaabong bound bus from Namayiba bus park terminal on Thursday morning but he was found dead on arrival at Soroti city bus park.

Jimmy Owili, one of the passengers aboard the Gateway bus, says that the deceased was escorted to the park by his brother who supported him to board the bus. Owili says the passenger looked weak by the time he boarded the bus.

John Bosco Ngoya, another passenger says the passenger died between Mbale and Soroti city. Ngoya said that the passenger was discovered dead by the neighbor who wanted to step off the bus in Soroti.

By the time of filing the story, the police were evacuating the body from the bus that was parked at Soroti West Division Police Station.

Oscar Greg Ageca, the East Kyoga Regional Police Spokesman says the deceased has been subjected to an Ebola test to rule out possible infection.

The death of the passenger comes at the time the country is battling an outbreak of Ebola, which has claimed more than 40 lives in the last two months. During the Covid-19 outbreak, another patient was discovered dead aboard another bus in Soroti.

The patient, however, turned out negative for COVID-19 when the sample was tested.

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