At least 71 people have died in Ethiopia after truck packed with passengers plunged into a river, authorities in the southern Sidama region say.
The accident happened in the Bona district, the regional communication bureau said in a statement issued late on Sunday (local time).
Wosenyeleh Simion, a spokesman for the Sidama regional government, told Reuters on Monday that at least 71 people had died, including 68 males and three females.
"Five are in a critical condition and taking treatment at Bona General Hospital," he said.
In a statement late on Sunday the regional communication bureau had given the death toll as 60.
Wosenyeleh said the truck missed a bridge and fell into a river, and that the road had many bends.
Some of the passengers were returning from a wedding ceremony and some families had lost multiple members, he said, adding traffic police in the region had reported the truck was overloaded, which likely caused the accident.
The state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) also reported that the passengers were travelling to a wedding when the accident occurred.
Deadly traffic accidents are common in Ethiopia, where driving standards are poor and many vehicles badly maintained.
At least 38 people, mostly students, were killed in 2018 when a bus plunged into a ravine in Ethiopia's mountainous north.
