Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — At least 66 people have died after a truck plunged into a river in southern Ethiopia, a hospital director said Monday. The accident took place on Sunday when an old, overcrowded truck, rented by wedding guests, fell off the Gelan Bridge, where villagers said road accidents had happened before.
The medical director of Bona General Hospital in the southern Sidama region, Lemma Lagide, told The Associated Press on Monday that 64 people died there and two more in hospital.
He added that patients requiring more sophisticated intensive care were transferred to a larger hospital in Hawassa.
Delays in relief efforts in the isolated village have been blamed for the high number of casualties. The villagers said they tried to save people from the raging river with sticks.
A villager, Serak Boko, told the AP that moments before the accident, music was coming from the truck and people in costumes were dancing and waving.
It is common for people in rural Ethiopia to rent trucks rather than buses to transport them to social events like weddings, as they are more affordable and carry many people. Most of the people on the truck were men as they are culturally required to accompany the bride from her home to the groom’s house.
“The area still sees regular accidents around the river because it is poorly constructed,” said resident Fasil Atara, referring to the road, which lacks speed bumps and warnings.
With desolate infrastructure and overcrowded public transport, Ethiopia has seen similar accidents in the past. In August, 38 people died after a bus overturned in the Amhara region.
