Ten Christians were killed and hundreds are injured after their bleachers collapsed during Timkat in Ethiopia.
AFP says the seating area collapsed during the celebrations. The epiphany festival continued after the collapse despite attendees and emergency crews working to remove people from the rubble.
People were loaded into ambulances and in the backs of trucks as they were rushed to the hospital.
Celebrations continued after the collapse in an attempt to control the crowds. The world heritage event hosted 15,000 foreigners and thousands of more locals.
An international reporter took a photo of the stand before the collapse, noting it appeared to be poorly made.
This was the stand minutes before it's collapse. Witnesses said, it was assembled poorly and quickly by young people with little experience and no professional supervision and materials. pic.twitter.com/9ckDfoyapm
— Samuel Getachew (@GetachewSS) January 20, 2020
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Christians were celebrating Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River on Monday during the orthodox celebration in Gondar. Each year hundreds of thousands of people make the trip to participate in the festival.
Timkat is considered Ethiopia's "most colourful holiday" by attendees. The epiphany festival is celebrated across the country with prayer, singing, and baptisms.Â
VIDEO: 🇪🇹 At least ten people were killed and scores injured when a seating area collapsed during the Orthodox Christian celebration of Epiphany in the Ethiopian city of #Gondar, a hospital official says pic.twitter.com/givveIDwkB
— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 21, 2020