At least 20 schoolchildren killed in bus crash in eastern Uganda

At least 20 schoolchildren and one adult have been killed in a serious bus crash in eastern Uganda, in one of the country's worst road accidents in recent years, police said on Friday.

The children were on their way back from a trip to the Sipi Falls in the Mount Elgon region on Thursday evening when their bus overturned, police said.

"The driver lost control of the vehicle, which hit a large rock at the side of the road and rolled over," police said, adding that three adults and 67 schoolchildren sustained injuries.

The Uganda Red Cross published images of the bloodied bodies of children on the road. Images in Ugandan media showed the wrecked bus lying on its side without a roof.

Reports circulated on social media that the bus had been in poor mechanical condition, though there was no official confirmation of this.