ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- A traffic accident in Ethiopia's Amhara regional state, located in the northern part of the country, has left seven people dead, an Ethiopian official said on Thursday.
In a press statement, Tsefawe Nega, Chief Traffic Inspector of Jama district of Amhara regional state, said the traffic accident happened on Thursday morning when a freight truck with 31 people on board traveling on the road fell into a 60 meters deep ditch, leaving seven people dead.
Nega said 24 people have sustained heavy or light injuries, with the injured currently being treated in nearby medical facilities.
He further said police has determined the cause of the traffic accident to be the freight truck carrying people beyond the truck's capacity.
Though Ethiopia has one of the lowest per capita car ownership in the world, deadly traffic accidents are fairly common, with the blame put on bad roads, flawed driving license issuance system and lax enforcement of safety rules.
