Panic has gripped Gateway Bus Registration Number UAL 770L Thursday afternoon when one of the passengers died while in transit. The deceased has been identified as Oscar Ocen, a resident of Okoya in Abim district.
It is reported that the deceased has been working with Saracen Security Company and was stationed in Kajjansi in Kampala. He fell ill and was given a sick leave of 21 days.
Ocen boarded the Kaabong bound bus from Namayiba Bus Park on Thursday morning but he was found dead on arrival at Soroti City Bus Park.
According to Jimmy Owili one of the passengers aboard the Gateway bus, 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.
Another passenger identified as John Bosco Ngoya says the passenger died between Mbale and Soroti city and was discovered by the neighbor who wanted to step off the bus in Soroti.
By press time, the Police were removing the body from the bus now parked at Soroti West Division Police Station.
The East Kyoga Regional Police Spokesman Oscar Greg Ageca 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.