In Ethiopia’s Amhara region, building structures supporting a church under construction collapsed, killing at least 30 people and injuring more than 200.
The BBC writes about this.
District police chief Ahmed Gebeyehu told the publication that on the morning of October 1, thousands of believers gathered near the church for the annual feast in honor of Saint Mary.
According to CNN, many worshippers climbed onto the wooden scaffolding to look at the fresco on the ceiling. Then the supporting structure collapsed.
At least 30 people, aged between 25 and 80, are currently known to have died. Ahmed Gebeyehu noted that the number could increase.
Eyewitnesses described the incident as “sudden and chaotic”: “A large part of the church collapsed – the sound of the wooden structure collapsing was loud and terrifying.”
The BBC notes that occupational health and safety regulations are largely ignored in Ethiopia, making construction disasters common.
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