Nine people died on Thursday night in a road accident at Kabwazi Trading Centre in Ntcheu when a lorry they were travelling in overturned at 11pm.
Ntcheu Police deputy public relations officer Laston Chapansi said eight people died on the spot while one died on the way to Dedza District Hospital.
He said two sustained serious fractures while the rest were treated as outpatients at Ntcheu and Dedza district hospitals.
Chapansi said the driver of the Nissan 10-tonner, registration LA 4401, George Vutitsani, 32, lost control of the vehicle when he failed to negotiate a bend due to over-speeding.
“The vehicle overturned once before throwing off the 40 illegal passengers on board. It also carried 60 bags of maize husks. Vutitsani is in police custody and has been charged with causing death by reckless driving,†said Chapansi.
He said only one of the deceased has been identified as Dorika Siliya, 25, of Chandamale Village, T/A Nsabwe in Ntcheu.
The police publicist said one body is being kept at Dedza District Hospital while the rest are at Ntcheu.
Chapansi is calling on members of the public to visit the two hospitals and identify the bodies.
He said the vehicle, which has the address P.O. Box 14, Chata School, Chiwamba, Lilongwe, was travelling from Lilongwe to Thekerani in Thyolo.
