At least 71 people lost their lives after a truck overloaded with passengers veered off a road and plunged into a river in Ethiopia’s southern Sidama region, officials confirmed on Monday.
The tragic accident occurred in the Bona district, according to a statement issued late Sunday by the regional communication bureau. Wosenyeleh Simion, spokesperson for the Sidama regional government, said the victims included 68 men and three women, with five others critically injured and receiving treatment at Bona General Hospital.
Initially, the regional bureau had reported 60 fatalities but revised the toll upward after further investigations.
The truck reportedly missed a bridge and fell into a river while navigating a winding road. Some passengers were returning from a wedding ceremony, and several families lost multiple members, Wosenyeleh said. Traffic police indicated that the truck was dangerously overloaded, likely contributing to the crash.
The Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) also noted that the passengers were en route to a wedding when the accident occurred on Sunday.
Fatal road accidents are a recurring problem in Ethiopia, where poor driving standards and poorly maintained vehicles pose significant risks. In 2018, a bus crash in the country’s mountainous north claimed the lives of 38 people, most of them students.
