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10 killed in seating collapse at Ethiopian festival
Monday, 20 January 2020 5:13 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 20 January 2020 5:19 PM ]
At least ten people have been killed and scores injured when a seating area collapsed during a major Orthodox Christian celebration in Ethiopia, with fears the death toll could rise.

The accident occurred just before 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) Monday in Gondar, a historic city in the country's north, where every year more than a million people gather for the epiphany festivities known as Timkat.

Two doctors at the University of Gondar Hospital told AFP that 10 people died when the spectator stands gave way suddenly at Fasilides' Bath, where thousands typically gather to watch worshipers plunge into the holy waters.

"I can tell you up to now we have 10 dead. The number of injured is 100 or even 150," said one senior doctor at the hospital. A second doctor confirmed the toll.

UNESCO added Timkat to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity last month, and the event draws huge crowds from across Ethiopia and abroad.

Hundreds had been sitting on a tiered wooden structure for hours when it collapsed. Witnesses fleeing the scene said an untold number were crushed, suggesting the casualty count could rise.

Another hospital source said the injured were suffering from fractures and internal bleeding.

Emergency vehicles struggled to part the crowd to enter the site and take victims to the hospital.

Once the site was cleared, however, the festival resumed and lasted until mid-morning.

Samuel Baheru, who traveled to Gondar for Timkat from the capital Addis Ababa, said he was outside Fasilides' Bath when the structure collapsed and watched bodies being carried out on stretchers.


A crowd removes scaffoldings of a structure that collapsed, trapping and injuring dozens of people, during the celebration of Timkat, the Ethiopian Epiphany, in Gondar, Ethiopia, on January 20, 2020. (Photo by AFP)
"We heard a loud noise and what we saw coming out on the stretchers wasn't pleasant. At first I panicked because my wife was inside, but then I found her and we continued with Timkat," he said.

Huge crowds

Tesfa Mekonnen, the city government's head of peace and security for Gondar, told AFP three people had been killed and maybe 100 injured in the accident, including at least one foreigner.

But he insisted authorities were prepared for the popular event and that the seating was built by "professionals."

"Youngsters wanted to participate so they climbed up, so there were too many and it was overloaded," said Tesfa in Gondar, a city 700 kilometers (435 miles) north of Addis Ababa and the former seat of the royal empire.

No official visitor count to Timkat is kept, said Aschalew Worku, the city's top tourism official.

But Tesfa, the security official, said UNESCO's listing of Timkat had played a part in greater spectator numbers this year.

"As you know it has been registered as a world heritage event. Because of this, we have seen a bigger number of people this year," he said.

At the hospital, the loved ones of victims huddled outside the emergency room in groups, some crying and others anxiously awaiting news from doctors.

One doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity because he did not want to publicly criticize the government, said the wooden seating structures -- which are built and erected each year for Timkat -- were a needless risk.

"I don't want to say this is totally preventable, but this type of temporary structure should not have been built in the first place," the official said.

"The security forces tried to avoid having people climb up, but you can't control so many people," he added.

Ethiopia is famous for its Orthodox Christian festivals, which draw worshipers and secular tourists and are central to its tourism industry.

Gondar is a popular stop for tourists traveling Ethiopia's "northern circuit" to see the storied rock-hewn churches of Lalibela and the Ark of the Covenant that sits covered in Axum, which Ethiopians have long claimed is the original brought from Jerusalem al-Quds by King Solomon 3,000 years ago.

(Source: AFP)

[Tog Wajale]

R.I.P. To All Ethiopian Amara People In Gonder. At The Same Time, This Rubbish Garbage Liggaggamm Pentte Ahmed Abiyot Is Silent In Any Ethiopian Amara People Deaths, Accidents Or University Students Kidnapped.
In Broad Daylight Ethiopian Amara People & Orthodox Christians Believers Are Murdered Killed, Over 33 Churches Burned To Ashes, Not Only That Over 26 University Students Girls Still Kidnapped.
To Dismayed That, The Liggaggamm Pentte Ahmed Abiyot Administration & Tebettabba Galla Berhanu Nega Or Lemma Megerssa Geffaffa Saying Nothing. It Looks They Are Enjoying It The Death Ethiopian Amara People & The Burning Of An Orthodox Christian Church. Only Time Will Tell, What Will Happen Next.

[Tog Wajale]

This Liggaggamm Pentte Ahmed Abiyot Hidden Somewhere, Just Because The Dead People Are Amara & Orthodox Christians Believers. What A Shame Government We Have. There Will Be A Price For His Silence. He Will Pay Dearly, It Is Just A Matter Of Time.

[Tog Wajale]