On 13 January 1985, an express train derailed on a curved bridge over the gorge of the Awash River in Awash, Ethiopia.
On 13 January 1985, an express train was travelling from Dire Dawa to Addis Ababa on the rail line from Djibouti.
Crossing the curved 40 feet (12 m) bridge over the ravine at Awash, four of the train's carriages derailed, beginning with the rear carriage.
[4] The accident was the deadliest train crash in Africa, and was at the time the third-deadliest train accident worldwide.
[1][2][3][5][7] The Ethiopian Ministry of Transportation blamed the crash on excessive speed on the curve; the driver was arrested.