11 killed in Tazannia road accident

DAR ES SALAAM: At least 11 people were killed in a road accident on Friday, with 21 others injured after a truck overturned in Mbeya region in Tanzania’s southern highlands, said a local official.

Mbeya regional commissioner Juma Homera said the accident occurred around 6:45 a.m. local time (0345 GMT).

The truck, carrying the 11 people from Mbalizi to Ilembo some 60 km away, plunged into a gorge, Homera told Xinhua in a telephone interview.

According to Homera, the 11 people, after being informed that the truck was defective, pressed the driver to drive on to attend an auction on time.

Five of them died on the spot, and six died on the way to the hospital, he said.

-Xinhua