At least seven people have been reported missing after a passenger service van lost control and crashed into River Nyagak at Nyagak village in Abanga Sub-county, Zombo District.
The accident occurred at around 1:00 pm on Monday, the afternoon of February 23rd, 2026, near the Nyagak bridge, where power is generated along the river.
According to district officials, the driver reportedly lost control after experiencing brake failure while attempting to avoid a motorcycle and pedestrians near the bridge.
Festus Ayikobua, the Resident District Commissioner of Zombo District, said preliminary accounts from survivors suggest the vehicle may have been overloaded.
“The driver lost control due to brake failure. He was attempting to dodge a motorcycle and some women after abruptly meeting around the bridge,” Ayikobua said.
According to information from some of the survivors, there were more than 20 people in the taxi; only 13 people were retrieved and rushed to hospitals for medication.
“All of them have been injured and some are still missing in the water, though we suspect that they are dead,” he added.
Local divers and sand miners were the first to respond, pulling eight critically injured victims, including two children, three women and three men from the fast-moving waters.
Edward Nyingaling, a sand miner who joined the rescue effort, described the difficulties responders faced.
“We managed to rescue eight people however, we couldn’t help as the fast-flowing waters swept away two people alive as we were seeing helplessly,” he said.
“It was hard to rescue some of the people because the water was flowing very fast. We predict those people are under the waters,” he added.
Ayikobua said that among the missing are three children from the same family, their mother and a three-month-old baby were retrieved, but the rest of the children remain unaccounted for.
The status of the driver remains unclear though the vehicle has been retrieved from the river and impounded at Paidha Central Police Station as investigations continue.
Police confirmed they have opened a formal inquiry into the crash.
Josephine Angucia, the West Nile regional police spokesperson said that the territorial police of Zombo District are investigating a single serious road accident that has involved a Toyota drone white in colour being driven by a yet to be identified driver.
She identified some of the injured as Monday Stephen, 53, a resident of Hoima, and Kasamba Ronald, 32, a resident of Anyola, Hoima.
The incident has raised concerns about vehicle roadworthiness, enforcement of passenger limits, and safety infrastructure at rural bridges.
Survivors said the taxi was carrying more than 20 passengers at the time of the crash, prompting police to intensify investigations into suspected overloading a widespread but dangerous practice on long rural routes.
