Twenty-six Malawi opposition supporters died on Friday night when the vehicle they were travelling in to a party conference overturned, police said on Saturday.
The Alliance for Democracy (Aford) members were travelling to Lilongwe from Blantyre for a Saturday meeting to elect a new leadership ahead of Malawi’s 2009 presidential elections.
”Twenty-one died on the spot and five died in hospital from serious injuries they sustained,” police spokesperson Franklin Gausi told Reuters, adding that twelve others were in a serious condition in hospital.
”We are still investigating but we suspect that the truck must have been overloaded because the supporters were 62 in total,” Gausi said. – Reuters