At least 71 people have died in a road accident in southern Ethiopia, according to local authorities.
A truck packed with passengers plunged into a river in Sidama state, some 300km (186 miles) south of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, the regional communication bureau said in a statement late on Sunday.
In a Facebook post, the Sidama Police Commission Traffic Prevention and Control Directorate said “68 males and three females are known to have died in the accident so far”, quoting Chief Inspector Daniel Sankura.
Wosenyeleh Simion, the spokesperson for the Sidama regional government, also confirmed that 71 people had died, adding that five were in a critical condition and taking treatment at Bona General Hospital.
In its statement late on Sunday the regional communication bureau had given the death toll as 60, also adding that survivors were being treated at Bona General Hospital.
