45 killed in Madagascar as lorry falls into river

The victims were in wedding procession when the lorry fell off a bridge and dropped directly into a river.

Antananarivo: At least 45 people, including newlyweds, were killedin Anjozorobe, a town 90 kilometers northeast of Antananarivo, Madagascar`s capital, after a lorry fell from a bridge into the Mananara river."45, including 9 children, 27 women and 9 men, were killed on spot while 24 others injured, during the accident," Xinhua quoted the mayor of Anjozorobe, Dr. Lova Andriamanantsoa as saying on Saturday.

"The victims were in wedding procession when a lorry which transported around 70 relatives of the newlyweds fell off a bridge and dropped directly into a river called Mananara.

The newlyweds were also inside the lorry," Andriamanantsoa said.

Andriamanantsoa said, the main reason of the accident is not yet known because the driver also died.

"Most of them were killed by suffocation in the water."