20 Dead in Sierra Leone Road Accident

Twenty people travelling on the back of a truck died in a road accident in eastern Sierra Leone when the vehicle careered off the road and plunged into a ditch, police said Saturday.

"Eighteen of the passengers were killed on the spot while the others died later in a nearby rural clinic," police spokesman Superintendent Ibrahim Samura told AFP.

He said the victims included two children between the ages of five and 10.

The truck, filled with consumer goods, overturned, trapping the passengers who were headed for the diamond mining town of Koindu from Kenema, the country's third largest city, 146 miles (235 kilometers) from the capital.

The driver escaped unhurt and was assisting with the investigation, Samura said.