A tragic accident claimed the lives of 71 people, including a bridegroom, after a wedding caravan crashed in southern Ethiopia’s Sidama region, local authorities said Monday.
In a statement released on Sunday, Chief Inspector Daniel Sankura of the Traffic Prevention and Control Directorate confirmed that 68 males and three females perished when a vehicle plunged off a road into a river in Sidama state. Two other passengers sustained severe injuries.
The accident occurred around 5:30 pm local time in Bona Zuria Woreda, located in Sidama’s Eastern Zone, approximately 300 kilometers south of Addis Ababa.
The vehicle, which has not been identified in terms of passenger capacity, veered off the road and fell into the river.
Images shared by local authorities depicted a heart-wrenching scene: a partially submerged vehicle surrounded by residents trying to rescue passengers, alongside rows of bodies covered in tarpaulin.
The Ethiopian government has not released an official statement, but local authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the accident. Poorly maintained roads are a common issue in Ethiopia and are often cited as contributing factors to road accidents in the country.
This tragedy has added to the rising toll of road-related deaths in Ethiopia, where transportation infrastructure struggles to keep pace with the growing population.
The incident has drawn widespread sympathy from around the globe. Messages of condolence have poured in for the bereaved families, with calls for Ethiopia to enhance road safety measures to prevent future tragedies.
