Kampala — A devastating fire has swept through a seven-story building along Rashid Khamisi Road in the city center, leaving a trail of destruction and suspected loss of life.

The fire is believed to have started at approximately 10:00am in the basement shops of Sunshine Building, located near Namayiba Bus Park and the Swarayan Indian worship center in Old Kampala.

Preliminary reports suggest that the blaze was triggered by improper mixing of chemical materials stored in one of the shops. According to Musazi Henry, an auto shop owner, the fire may have been caused by a newly hired employee's mistake while handling detergent chemicals. "Our colleague had hired someone new, and we believe they made an error mixing the chemicals, which led to the fire," Musazi explained.

"We initially tried to extinguish the flames with water, but they only intensified, forcing us to flee."

Vincent Segayi, Defense Secretary of Namayiba Park, witnessed the incident and described the frantic rescue efforts. "We saw huge smoke and rushed to put it out," he said. "We managed to rescue three people from the upper floors, but had to retreat as the fire grew wild." Segayi confirmed that rescue teams had recovered one body, but others remained trapped. Several eyewitnesses reported that more people were still inside the hotel rooms occupying the top four floors of the building.

Uganda Police Fire Department was still battling the flames, with rescue operations ongoing by the time of publishing this story.