At least 31 killed in Ethiopia bus crash on dangerous mountain road

At least 31 people were killed and dozens more were injured when an overcrowded bus traveling from the Dessie area toward Addis Ababa veered off the road and plunged into a ravine in Ethiopia’s northern Amhara region. The crash happened in the Kombolcha area, on a route widely regarded as dangerous because it winds through hilly terrain. Local police said the death toll was worsened by delayed emergency response.

Police said the area lacks basic infrastructure and ambulance services, forcing passengers to be transported in public vehicles instead of specialized rescue units. That gap matters in a country where a single road crash can quickly become a mass-casualty event, especially on rural routes far from trauma care. The bus itself was overcrowded, adding another layer of risk to a vehicle already under strain.

The disaster points to problems that extend far beyond one wreck. The World Health Organization says Ethiopia’s road-traffic death rate was 28 per 100,000 people in 2019, a stark reminder that road safety remains a major public-health issue. Globally, the WHO estimates that road traffic crashes kill about 1.19 million people a year, and 92% of those deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. In Africa, the WHO regional office has warned that road traffic death rates have risen significantly over the past decade.

Ethiopia has already seen a similar tragedy in Amhara. In January 2025, a bus plunged into a ditch in the same region, killing 38 people and injuring 10 others. The pattern has also been visible in the capital: World Bank material shows Addis Ababa’s annual traffic-death toll rose from 395 in 2009 to 585 in 2019. Taken together, the figures point to a persistent safety crisis shaped by overcrowding, poor vehicle maintenance, dangerous roads, weak enforcement and thin rural rescue capacity.

Authorities said the cause of the latest crash remained under investigation. But the combination of steep terrain, delayed medical response and an overcrowded bus suggests a failure that is systemic, not isolated, and one that continues to exact a heavy toll across Ethiopia’s roads.