A truck carrying the group veered off the road and plunged into a river near Bona Zuria, Gelan Bridge, in Ethiopia
\n NAIROBI
\nThe death toll from a road accident in southern Ethiopia has risen to at least 71, according to a local police official.
\nIn a Facebook post late Sunday, the Sidama Police Commission Traffic Prevention and Control Directorate said that \u201c68 males and three females are known to have died in the accident so far,\u201d citing Chief Inspector Daniel Sankura.
\nThe police commission said the incident occurred at around 5:30 p.m. local time (1430 GMT) when the vehicle plunged off a road and into a river.
\nThe post added that \u201ctwo others have sustained heavy physical injuries,\u201d but did not detail any further information about the number of passengers onboard at the time of the incident.
\nThe accident occurred in Sidama state \u2014 some 300 kilometers (180 miles) south of the capital Addis Ababa \u2014 in the Eastern Zone, in Bona Zuria Woreda.
\nBlurred images shared by the health bureau earlier showed a mass of people surrounding a vehicle, partially submerged in water, with many seemingly attempting to help pull it from the waters.
\nOther images shared by the bureau appeared to show bodies, some covered in blue tarpaulin, lying on the ground.
\nRoad accidents are common in Ethiopia, Africa\u2019s second most populous nation, where roads are often poorly maintained.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A truck carrying the group veered off the road and plunged into a river near Bona Zuria, Gelan Bridge, in Ethiopia NAIROBI The death toll from a road accident in southern Ethiopia has risen to at least 71, according to a local police official. In a Facebook post late Sunday, the Sidama Police Commission Traffic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452611,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-452590","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n