At least 36 killed, over 200 injured as church below building collapses on worshippers in Ethiopia

Makeshift scaffolding arrange at a church in Ethiopia’s Amhara area collapsed Wednesday Wednesday (October 1, 2025), killing at the least 36 individuals and injuring greater than 200, state media mentioned.

The incident occurred early on Wednesday (October 1) at Menjar Shenkora Arerti Mariam Church in Amhara, northern Ethiopia, as worshippers gathered for an annual occasion celebrating St. Mary.

District Police Chief, Ahmed Gebeyehu, advised state media Fana: “The variety of lifeless has reached 36 and will improve extra”, including “greater than 200 individuals have suffered accidents” and had been receiving remedy at a neighborhood hospital.

Some individuals remained below the rubble, native official Atnafu Abate advised the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC), with out giving additional particulars about these trapped or potential rescue efforts.

He mentioned a number of the extra severely harm had been taken to hospitals within the capital.

Images shared on the ECB’s official Facebook web page confirmed a large number of collapsed wood poles, with crowds gathering amid the dense particles.

Other photos appeared to indicate the skin of the church the place scaffolding had been precariously constructed.

A authorities assertion shared by ECB expressed condolences, and added that “security have to be given precedence”. Health and security rules are just about non-existent in Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation, and building accidents are frequent.

The sprawling nation is a mosaic of 80 ethnic teams and has one of many world’s oldest Christian communities. Its predecessor, the Axumite Empire, declared Christianity the state faith within the fourth century.

Teshale Tilahun, the native administrator, warned that the loss of life toll may doubtlessly rise. “It is a tragic loss for the group,” he mentioned