ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Police in Ethiopia say at least 31 people are dead and dozens more injured after a bus crash in the conflict-hit northern Amhara region.

The overcrowded bus was traveling 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.

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 road where the accident occurred winds through hilly terrain and is widely known as hazardous. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

A similar bus crash into a river in Ethiopia’s southern Sidama region in December 2024 left 66 people dead.