Tragic Road Accident in Ethiopia Claims Over 70 Lives

More than 70 people have lost their lives in a devastating road accident in Ethiopia, marking one of the deadliest incidents in recent times.

A local official reported that the death toll from a road accident in southern Ethiopia has increased to at least 71 after a vehicle carrying wedding party guests plunged into a river.

The truck veered into the water at approximately 5:30 PM local time (2:30 PM GMT) on Sunday, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) south of the capital, Addis Ababa, in Sidama State.

The Sidama Police Commission’s Traffic Prevention and Control Directorate reported that the death toll “so far” stands at 68 men and three women.

“The accident was particularly tragic because the riverbed contained many large stones, resulting in fatal injuries for most of the passengers and the driver,” Wossenyeleh Simon, from the regional communications department, informed AFP.

He mentioned that the driver lost control of the “freight truck” — which was transporting 76 individuals, including wedding attendees and day laborers — while attempting to navigate a sharp curve before reaching a bridge.

He added that the truck might have been overloaded with people due to the limited number of passenger vehicles in operation that day.

Images shared by the health bureau, though blurred, depicted a crowd surrounding a vehicle partially submerged in water. Numerous ropes were being used in an effort to pull it from the waters.

Additional images released by the bureau seemed to depict bodies on the ground, some covered with blue tarpaulin.

Wossenyeleh Simon mentioned that staff from a nearby hospital promptly arrived at the scene on Sunday, assisting in retrieving the bodies of those who had died and conducting search and rescue operations for survivors.

Of the five survivors, two suffered serious injuries and are currently receiving treatment at Hawassa Referral Hospital.

He mentioned that three individuals had already been discharged, despite experiencing “mental stress and psychological shock.”

Road accidents frequently occur in Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa, often due to poorly maintained roads.

Earlier this year, a bus veered into a river in Wolaita, southern Ethiopia, resulting in at least 28 fatalities and leaving 19 others with serious injuries.

In 2018, a collision between an army truck and a minibus in the northern region of the country resulted in the deaths of at least 18 civilians.

Despite having the fewest roads and cars compared to other regions, the continent experiences the highest ratio of vehicle-related deaths. This is often due to inadequate infrastructure, a lack of emergency responders, and an aging fleet of vehicles.

According to a World Health Organization report published earlier this year, Africa is home to just about four percent of the world’s automobiles but was responsible for 19 percent of global road fatalities last year.

The study also revealed that this continent was the sole region to experience an increase in road deaths between 2010 and 2021, rising by 17 percent.