NAIROBI: The death toll from a road accident in southern Ethiopia has risen to at least 71 after a vehicle carrying a wedding party veered into a river, a local official said.

The truck careered into the water at around 5:30pm local time (1430 GMT) on Sunday some 300 kilometres south of capital Addis Ababa in Sidama state.

The Sidama Police Commission Traffic Prevention and Control Directorate put the death toll “so far” at 68 men and three women.

“The accident was especially horrific as the river had a lot of big stones so most passengers, including the driver, were killed due to the impact,” Woss­enyeleh Simon, an official with the regional communications department, said. “Among the deceased are four people from the same family,” he said.

He said that the driver had lost control of the “freight truck” — which was carrying 76 people, including those heading to the wedding and day-labourers — when trying to turn a tight bend ahead of a bridge.

“It was possible the truck was carrying people beyond its capacity as there were a scarce number of passenger vehicles operating during that day,” he added.

Blurred images shared by the health bureau showed a mass of people surrounding the vehicle, partially submerged in water, with many ropes attempting to help pull it from the waters. Other images shared by the bureau appeared to show bodies, some covered in blue tarpaulin, lying on the ground.

Wossenyeleh Simon said that staff from a nearby hospital were quickly on the scene on Sunday, “helping retrieve the bodies of the deceased and also conducting search and rescue operations for survivors.” Of the five individuals who survived, two sustained serious injuries and were currently receiving care at Hawassa Referral Hospital.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2024