At least 71 people lost their lives in Ethiopia on Sunday evening when a truck carrying passengers, including a wedding party, veered off a bridge and plunged into a river in the southern Sidama region. The devastating accident occurred in the Bona district, approximately 300 kilometers south of the capital, Addis Ababa, according to local officials and a regional government statement.
The Sidama regional government confirmed that the truck was overloaded with passengers, a factor cited by traffic police as a likely cause of the tragedy. "The truck missed a bridge on a road with many bends and fell into the river," said Wosenyeleh Simion, spokesperson for the Sidama regional government. Emergency services arrived swiftly, but many of the victims were already beyond saving.
Authorities reported that 68 men and three women were among the deceased. Five survivors remain in critical condition and are receiving treatment at Bona General Hospital. Some victims were members of families who were returning from a wedding celebration, compounding the grief for the local community.
Heart-wrenching images shared by the Sidama Regional Health Bureau on Facebook captured the aftermath of the accident. Crowds of people could be seen attempting to recover the wrecked vehicle using ropes, while rows of bodies lay on the ground, covered with blue tarpaulin.
#RoadAccident | At least 71 killed in #Ethiopia's Sidama state after a truck packed with passengers plunged into a river. pic.twitter.com/NwCXHYRhC7 — All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) December 30, 2024
Details about the total number of passengers on the truck remain unclear. Witness accounts suggest multiple families have been shattered by the loss of several members in the crash.
Traffic accidents are tragically common in Ethiopia, a country plagued by substandard driving practices and poorly maintained vehicles. The country has seen numerous high-fatality incidents in recent years. In 2018, a bus plunged into a ravine in Ethiopia's mountainous north, killing at least 38 people, most of them students.
The wedding-related nature of the journey has added an additional layer of sorrow to the catastrophe. "It's unimaginable that a day meant for joy and celebration could end with such devastation," one local official remarked.
Efforts to improve road safety in Ethiopia have been sporadic and largely ineffective, with little enforcement of traffic laws and limited resources allocated to road maintenance. Sunday's accident has reignited calls for stricter regulations to prevent overloaded vehicles from operating on dangerous routes.
The Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, a state-run outlet, reported that the regional communication bureau initially listed the death toll at 60 late on Sunday. However, the toll was revised upward as rescue operations continued into Monday.
Local authorities are now focused on identifying the victims and offering support to grieving families. A temporary morgue has been set up in the region to manage the identification process, and social workers have been deployed to assist affected families.
The Ethiopian government has yet to issue a formal statement on the incident.
