ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- A car accident in north Ethiopia's Tigray regional state left 13 people dead, an Ethiopian official said on Saturday.

Berhane Mebrat, chief inspector of Tigray's Tankua Abergale district, said the accident happened on Friday afternoon when a passenger minibus travelling on the road overturned and fell into a ditch leaving 13 dead and two others gravely injured, reported state media Dimtsi Woyane Tigray.

Mebrat said the minibus that was travelling beyond the area's speed limit had struck two pedestrians before it overturned and fell into the ditch. One pedestrian was killed while the other pedestrian was seriously injured, with the rest of causalities including the minibus driver and his passengers.

Despite having one of the lowest per capita car ownerships in the world, deadly traffic accidents in Ethiopia are common with blames put on bad roads, flawed driving license issuance system and lax enforcement of road safety.

Traffic accidents during the Ethiopian Fiscal Year 2016/17 that ended on July 8 in 2017 led to deaths of 4,500 people, according to Ethiopia Federal Transport Authority.