The spokesperson for the southern Sidama regional government said in a statement that a truck carrying passengers crashed into a river in Ethiopia, killing at least 71 people.
The regional communication bureau announced late Sunday that the accident occurred in the Bona district.
According to Sidama regional government spokesperson Wosenyeleh Simion, at least 71 people have died, including 68 men and three women, who spoke to Reuters on Monday.
“Five are in a critical condition and taking treatment at Bona General Hospital,” said the official.
The regional communication bureau stated in a statement late on Sunday that 60 people had died.
Wosenyeleh claimed that the road had many turns and that the truck had fallen into a river after missing a bridge.
“The truck was overloaded, which probably caused the accident,” he said, adding that some of the passengers were returning from a wedding ceremony and that some families had lost several members.
When the accident happened on Sunday, the passengers were on their way to a wedding, according to the state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC).
Ethiopia has a high rate of fatal traffic accidents due to poor driving standards and poorly maintained vehicles.
In the mountainous north of Ethiopia, a bus crashed into a ravine in 2018, killing at least 38 people, primarily students.
