A devastating incident in southern Ethiopia has seen at least 71 people perish in a tragic road accident. According to reports from the local authorities, a truck laden with passengers fell into a river at Sidama state, approximately 300 kilometers (186 miles) south of the capital, Addis Ababa.
According to a statement from the regional communication bureau late Sunday, the Sidama Police Commission confirmed that of the deceased, 68 were males and three were females, as reported by Chief Inspector Daniel Sankura. The spokesperson for the Sidama regional government, Wosenyeleh Simion, further corroborated the death toll to Reuters.
On Monday, Wosenyeleh disclosed that five more people are in critical condition and that they are being treated at Bona General Hospital. Earlier, the regional communication bureau reported that 60 people have died, stating that the survivors are also being taken care of in the same medical facility.
Heart-wrenching pictures published by the Sidama Regional Health Bureau show that there was a stampede while crowds were around a partly submerged vehicle in an effort to help pull it out. Other images of corpses, some of which had blue tarpaulins placed over them, lay along the ground.
The health bureau extended its sympathies to the families of the victims and promised to update on the incident further. The accident occurred at about 5:30 PM local time, 14:30 GMT, when the truck ran off course and fell into the river.
Wosenyeleh explained that the truck had missed a bridge and plunged into the water, contributing to the tragedy along a road known for its many bends. Many of the passengers were reported to have been returning from a wedding ceremony, and some families lost multiple members in the crash.
Preliminary reports from traffic police indicate that the truck was overloaded, which probably contributed to the accident. However, authorities have not disclosed the total number of passengers aboard at the time.
There were many accidents on roads. The major reason was due to many of them being poorly maintained. This year was similar when, in 2018, a bus had plunged into a ravine in the mountainous north, killing at least 38 people, mostly students.
