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Thursday, 14 August 2008

Eight killed, 26 injured in Malawi road crash

Eight people were killed and 26 injured when a lorry swerved into the path of oncoming traffic north of the capital Lilongwe, police said Thursday.

The eight killed were all travelling aboard the lorry, which crashed into two other vehicles, police spokesman John Namalenga said.

The driver "lost control as he was descending towards a bridge. The driver failed to keep to his lane and swerved to the right hand side, hitting two vehicles and killing eight people on the spot," Namalenga said.

He said 12 of the injured were in a serious condition.

The crash happened in Dedza district, 85 kilometres (53 miles) north of Lilongwe, on Wednesday.

Early last week, 24 people were killed while 26 others were injured when a five-tonne lorry overturned in northern Malawi.

Drivers in rural Malawi often overload vehicles with passengers, and road crashes kill an average of four people per day in the impoverished country.

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