At least 71 people died in Ethiopia when a truck full of passengers fell into a river. The information was confirmed by the spokesperson for the regional government of Sidama, in the south of the country, and a statement.
The accident occurred in the district of Bonn, the regional communications department said in a statement released on Sunday night (29).
Wosenyeleh Simion, spokesman for the Sidama regional government, told Reuters on Monday (30) that at least 71 people had died, including 68 men and 3 women.
“Five are in critical condition and receiving treatment at Bonn General Hospital,” he said.
In a statement released on Sunday evening, the regional communications office said the death toll was 60.
Wosenyeleh said the truck missed a bridge and fell into a river and that the road had many curves.
Some passengers were returning from a wedding ceremony and some families lost several members, he said, adding that traffic police in the region reported that the truck was overloaded, which likely caused the accident.
The state-owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) also reported that the passengers were traveling to a wedding when the accident occurred.
Fatal road traffic accidents are where driving standards are low and many vehicles are poorly maintained.
At least 38 people, most of them students, died in 2018 when a bus plunged into a ravine in Ethiopia’s mountainous north.
