ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- A sudden collapse of a wooden bench on Monday injured more than 100 people as tens of thousands of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians gathered in Ethiopia's northwestern Gondar city to celebrate epiphany, the baptism of Jesus Christ, regional government officials have confirmed.
The incident occurred as a congested wooden bench that was constructed to serve as a sitting place for people attending the epiphany celebrations in Gondar city collapsed as it was forced to accommodate beyond its capacity, Amhara Mass Media Agency (AMMA) quoted Tesfa Mekonen, head of Gondar city peace and security department, as saying.
The official had not disclosed the number of people killed from the deadly incident.
According to Mekonen, among the victims that have sustained light physical injuries are two foreign nationals. Authorities are, however, yet to announce the two injured foreign nationals' citizenship.
The official further stressed that the wooden bench, which was initially built to accommodate about 700 to 1,000 invited guests, collapsed as it was boarded by many unexpected others who were eager to take part in the baptism event.
The injured also include two security personnel who were protecting the wooden bench from the crowd, according to Gondar city peace and security department.
Eyewitnesses confirmed to Xinhua that security personnel and volunteers were seen undertaking lifesaving activities shortly after the incident that happened in the early hours of Monday.
Various pictures have been also circulating over social media platforms shortly after the tragic incident, showcasing the incident as well as pictures of injured people from the incident.
Thousands of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians across Ethiopia travel to Gondar city every year to celebrate epiphany, in which this year's edition of the celebrations in Gondar is also attended by senior Ethiopian government officials, including the Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde.
The Ethiopian epiphany (Timket in Amharic), is considered as one of the East African country's highly rated religious and cultural events.
It is a colorful festival celebrated all over Ethiopia to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ, in which the commemoration starts on the eve of the main festival, which falls on Jan. 18, or Jan. 19 during leap year such as this year's edition of the celebration.
Last year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) had inscribed Timket on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which was attributed to unique Timket celebrations across Ethiopia - Africa's second populous nation with an estimated 107 million total population.
According to Gondar city administration, tens of thousands of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians are attending this year's epiphany celebration in the historic city, while about 15,000 foreign nationals are also currently in Gondar city attending the epiphany celebrations.
