Authorities have confirmed that two individuals lost their lives in a devastating fire that ravaged the Sunrise Hotel, situated on Rashid Khamis Road, directly across from Mukwano Mall, the Central Part of the Capital Kampala, in Uganda.
Dramatic videos flooded social media, depicting men and women frantically jumping from a lodge, some in the nude and others wrapped in towels, as they escaped a raging fire that had consumed the building.
Their desperate flight highlights the primal instinct to survive, with thick, dark smoke billowing into the sky from the charred structure.
Other people were seen evacuating their stuff through windows.
Kampala Metropolitan spokesperson, Patrick Onyango reported that the Directorate of Fire and Rescue Services managed to bring the blaze under control, although many rooms were already engulfed in thick smoke, complicating evacuation efforts.
The fire erupted on the ground floor around 10:00 am, according to police accounts.
Emergency responders acted quickly, deploying six fire trucks, four 999 Patrol Cars to assist the firefighters, along with territorial police, ambulances, and Red Cross support. Onyango identified one of the deceased as Akot Akol Arop Chan, a 45-year-old South Sudanese national, while the identity of the second victim remains unknown.
He noted that the bodies have been transported to the City Mortuary at Mulago for autopsy.
Onyango also highlighted that properties worth billions of Shillings were lost in the incident.
He stressed that rescue teams continue to work on-site, assessing all rooms to determine the full extent of the damage.
“However, their efforts are being hindered by dense smoke, which is severely limiting visibility. Despite the challenges, the team has managed to access a few rooms, and the operation is ongoing,” he noted.
