The death toll from a road accident on Thursday in Gondola, Manica province, has risen from nine to 10.

The new fatality was hospitalized in serious condition at Chimoio Provincial Hospital, said the clinical director of the largest health unit in that central province, quoted yesterday by Rádio Moçambique.

The accident occurred at around 12:30 p.m., when a goods transport truck crashed into an informal market on the side of National Road 6, the spokesman for the PRM in Manica province, Mateus Mindú, told Lusa on Thursday.

At the scene, according to the source, 24 people, including informal traders and "motorcycle taxi drivers", were run over by the truck, which also destroyed some buildings, including Teachers' Square.

In addition to the 10 deaths, 14 people were injured and treated at the Gondola District and Chimoio Provincial hospitals.

The Secretary of State for Manica province, Stefan Dick Kassotche Mphiri, visited the victims admitted to Chimoio Provincial Hospital yesterday.

"We need to fight to get rid of the people who sell on the roadsides. But we also need to teach drivers that they should respect the signs on the road and maintain their vehicles," Stefan Dick Kassotche Mphiri told the media after visiting the victims.

Road accident rates in the country are classified as dramatic by various organizations.