The funerals were held after the collapse of the scaffolding 36

Amensisa ifaBBC Africa, Aritre and

Sami AwamiBBC Africa, Nairobi

Str / EPA / Shutterstock a woman, holds her head, crying, while a man behind her tries to relieve her

A day after the happy celebration of a religious festival, group funerals were held in the small Ethiopian town of Arte, for 36 people who were killed when a scaffold collapsed inside an Orthodox Christian Church.

Hundreds of mourners walked with the coffins covered with a colored cloth in a nearby church complex, while the clergy conducted the burial rituals after the disaster in the Church of St. Maryam.

Among them was the 22 -year -old Fisker Telehon, who told BBC that he had lost his mother in the tragedy.

“It is difficult to lose your mother, very difficult,” he said.

Vicker Tayyon saw his mother on the night before her death

Amensisa ifa / bbc fikre tilaun, with a White Top, Stares — Vicker Tayyon saw his mother on the night before her death

Although the church is still under construction, people gathered in the building on Wednesday during the annual celebration of the Christian Orthodoxy of Saint Mary.

GEBRWELD TESFAYE BBC told a large number of worshipers decided to climb into temporary scaffolding to see a newly painted mural on the church’s ceiling when he hit the disaster.

“The stairs were completely wooden, and there were many people moving on the upper floor at the time. While the tights were going, the wooden structure gave the road, which led to the collapse,” said GEBRWELD.

Other eyewitnesses said that chaos followed this, as people spread in a state of panic or tried to save the lives of people trapped under the rubble.

Amensisa IFA / BBC is seen in the Orthodox Christian Church, where the tragedy took place — The church is still under construction

Mr. Vicar BBC told that as soon as he heard about the disaster, he rushed to the church, then to a health center to search for his mother, but she was not anywhere.

“My cousin called me after that. Then I went to the hospital. Her body was there.”

It was among the 36 people, as emergency services say that the number of dead may rise because some of the injured, who numbered about 200, were in critical condition. Some of them were transferred to Addis Ababa, about 70 km (45 miles), for treatment.

The head of the local diocese, Megabi Hadis Nekatibbebb, described the disaster as “incredible and fracture of the heart.”

A group funeral was held for the victims

Amensisa IFA / BBC, some with Umbreallas, carry a coffin — A group funeral was held for the victims

Mr. Vicker said that life will not be the same for him and his younger brother without their mother.

“We raised us by making and selling Tila (wine locally),” he told the BBC.

The government expressed its condolences to the relatives of the victims, and said that “safety should be given priority” during all construction projects.

Health and safety regulations are poorly applied in Ethiopia and common construction disasters.