About 23 people were confirmed dead in north-western Uganda when an overloaded lorry, plunged into a river ,according to a state-run newspaper reported Wednesday. The lorry was carrying 34 passengers , mostly traders and merchandise when a wooden bridge gave way late on Tuesday, according to The New Vision daily. Rescue teams are working to retrieve bodies out of the water. The casualty figure could rise as more bodies are likely trapped in the wreckage, the area’s police spokesperson Josephine Angucia was quoted as saying. ‘The truck passed on some rotten timber on the bridge which gave way and the lorry tipped and plunged into the river,’ Angucia said. Most of the survivors were taken to the main government hospital in Arua town, 500 kilometers from the Ugandan capital Kampala.