Despite the warning, citizens ran towards the tanker with basins and cans to collect the spilled fuel.

“I saw many people buying fuel and decided to buy some as well,” Ssebwana added. He tried to buy a five-litre jerrycan but realized they had all been bought and bought a jerrycan of the same amount from a nearby house.

“I went in, got fuel, filled the canisters and left,” he said.

“After walking about 1.5 metres, I heard a loud explosion. I turned and saw the tanker explode. The force pulled me back but I ran with my fuel and later spilled it on my motorcycle,” he added. Ssebwana is the man seen holding a white jerry can next to the tanker in a viral video .

Another survivor, Kigogwa resident Abdurrahman Kisambira, recorded viral videos of the incident. He was only a few meters away when the explosion occurred.

“I was filming as proof that people were stealing fuel, but minutes later there was a huge explosion. A fire broke out and I ran to save my life,” said Kisambira.

Residents praised 19-year-old Joseph Muwonge, who died trying to save five children playing at a nearby play station. Described as selfless and hard-working, Muwonge entertained children by working at the play station for seven years.

His employer, Hassan Saazi, said through tears: “Jose is irreplaceable. When the tanker crashed, I asked him to close the shop. “He could have survived, but he chose to save the children.”

The victim, taxi driver Alex Ssendi, was buried in his ancestral home in Kavunza Village, Mattuga-Nansana Municipality.

Ssendi was remembered by her relative, Mrs. Hope Nakazaana, as the pillar of the family, especially in the care of her sick mother.

“We have lost someone who is irreplaceable,” he said, urging young people to be careful in similar situations. “Many of these people died because they stole fuel. “The driver even warned them.”

Gombe District Mayor Ronald Kasirvu has called on the government to take precautions against the dangers on the Bombo-Gulu Expressway.

“They should install speed bumps here as vehicles move very fast and people work along the road. “Fire brigades also need to be deployed nearby to respond to such incidents,” he said.

At the same funeral ceremony, Mr. Joseph Musoke, head of Buwambo Health Center IV, called on the government to equip health centers to better deal with emergencies.

“We took in patients but couldn’t do much due to lack of medical equipment,” he said.