ADDIS ABABA, Jan 22 (NNN-ENA) – The death toll from a sudden collapse of a wooden bench, at a major religious gathering, in northwestern Ethiopia’s Gondar city, climbed to 10, while 250 people were injured, local government officials confirmed.
The deadly 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, as tens of thousands of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians gathered in Ethiopia’s northwestern Gondar city, to celebrate epiphany, the baptism of Jesus Christ.
“The accident left a total of 250 people injured and ten of them died, after they were admitted to hospital,” state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC) quoted Ashenafi Tazebe, Medical Director at Gonder Referral Hospital, as saying.
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 event.
According to the Medical Director, some 13 of the injured, who sustained serious physical injuries, are currently receiving intensive medical treatment, who are said to “need lengthy medical care.”
Eyewitnesses confirmed that, security personnel and volunteers were seen undertaking lifesaving activities shortly after the incident that happened in the early hours of Monday.
Tesfa Mekonen, head of Gondar city peace and security department, also disclosed that among the victims that sustained light physical injuries are two foreign nationals. Authorities are, however, yet to announce the two injured foreign nationals’ citizenship.
According to Gondar city administration, tens of thousands of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians attended 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.
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.
