ADDIS ABABA, May 30 (Xinhua) -- A car accident in Ethiopia's northern Amhara regional state has left 18 people dead, a regional government office said on Wednesday.

In a press statement, Mecha Communications Office, North Shoa zone, Amhara regional state, said the accident happened on Tuesday afternoon in Mecha city when a passenger minibus carrying religious pilgrims travelling on the road collided with a bus leaving 18 dead and eight others injured, reported state affiliated media outlet Radio Fana.

Police have determined the cause of the accident to be failure by the bus driver to drive in his designated lane and have arrested the bus driver on suspicions of negligent driving.

The East African country, with one of the lowest per capita car ownership in the world, often encounters deadly traffic accidents with blames put on bad roads, flawed driving license issuance system and negligent enforcement of road safety.

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