At least 71 people have died in southern Ethiopia after a lorry plunged into a river, officials say.

The vehicle, which was travelling through Sidama state on Sunday, fell into the river after it missed a bridge, a local official told the Reuters news agency.

Wosenyeleh Simion said many of the passengers had been guests at a wedding party.

Traffic police in the region reported the lorry was overloaded, which was likely to have caused the incident, Mr Simion said. Further investigations are under way.

Of the people known to have died, 68 were men and 3 were women, the Sidama Police Commission Traffic Prevention and Control Directorate said.

Blurred images shared on Facebook by the state health bureau show a group of people attempting to pull a damaged vehicle from a body of water in the district of Bona.

Other images shared by the bureau appear to show bodies, some covered in blue tarpaulin, lying on the ground.

Thousands of people are killed every year in road accidents in Ethiopia, with over-speeding and disregard for traffic laws often blamed.