Officials have confirmed that thirty-eight people have died after the bus they were travelling in plunged off an embankment in northern Ethiopia on Monday.
“A total of 38 people, (28 male, and 10 female) were killed in the accident,” state-affiliated Fana Broadcast Corporation said on Tuesday (March 13) citing local authorities.
#Ethiopia: Road accident in south Wollo zone claims 38 lives @fanatelevision https://t.co/mxbxHZ2YzR pic.twitter.com/g2Y5ChbcoG
— FANA BROADCASTING C (@fanatelevision) March 13, 2018
Ten passengers survived but suffered “serious and minor injuries” in the accident, which took place between the towns of Dessie and Mekane Selam in the Legambo district of the regional state of Amhara.
The cause of the crash remains unknown. “You can guess it might be technical, but the police are investigating it,” Nigussu Tilahunh, the Amhara regional spokesman said.
Tilahunh added that most of the passengers were from towns near the site of the crash and local media has confirmed that most of the victims of Monday’s accident were “students of higher learning institutions”.
Many rely on buses for long-distance travel in the continent’s second-most-populous country and one of its fastest-growing economies.
