Antananarivo: At least 45 were killed in a Madagascar town when a lorry transporting people for a wedding ceremony fell from a bridge into a river on Saturday, officials said. The newlyweds were among the victims.

The accident happened in Anjozorobe, a town 90 kilometers northeast of Madagascar's capital Antananarivo. There were 70 people in the lorry which fell into the Mananara river.

"Forty-five people, including 9 children were killed on spot while 24 others were injured during the accident," Anjozorobe mayor Lova Andriamanantsoa told Xinhua by telephone.

"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," said Andriamanantsoa.-Agency