A photo of the truck which crashed into the bus north of Ethiopia. Photo courtesy of Social media.
The overcrowded bus was travelling from the Dessie area to the capital, Addis Ababa, early Monday when it veered off the road and plunged into a ravine, according to the Kombolcha Town Administration Police Division.
Road accidents are common in Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation, where roads are often poorly maintained.
Many people died due to delays in emergency response as the area lacks basic infrastructure and ambulance services, forcing passengers to be transported in public vehicles.
The bus, which was travelling from Dessie city in Amhara to the capital Addis Ababa, "plunged into a ravine approximately 100 metres deep (330 feet)", local authorities wrote on Facebook.
31 people were killed and "many others have sustained minor or severe injuries", officials said, without giving exact figures.
The road where the accident occurred winds through hilly terrain and is widely known as hazardous, and an investigation is underway.
The total number of passengers has not been released.
Images shared by the official regional Facebook account showed a vehicle lying on a hillside, almost entirely obliterated.
In December 2024, more than 70 people were killed in the south after a vehicle carrying a wedding party plunged into a river.
It was the deadliest accident in the country in a quarter of a century.
In September of the same year, a bus swerved into a river in southern Wolaita, leaving at least 28 people dead and 19 others seriously injured.
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