At least nine people were killed and 11 others injured after a lorry carrying a load of mangoes overturned in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, police said Monday.

The accident occurred on Sunday night in the Pullampeta area of Annamayya district, about 387 km southwest of Amaravati, the capital city of Andhra Pradesh.

“The accident took place when the lorry lost control and turned turtle. The lorry was carrying an overload of mangoes of about 40 tonnes, with 20 workers seated on top of the load,’’ a police official said.

Police said that when the lorry overturned, the crates of mangoes fell on the workers, causing death to some and injuring the others.

Following the accident, locals and emergency personnel rushed to the spot to carry out a rescue operation and moved the injured to the hospital.

The cause of the accident is being ascertained.

While police suspected overloading as the reason, the driver, who survived the mishap, told them that he lost control while trying to avoid hitting a car coming from the opposite direction.

Deadly road accidents are common in India, often caused due to overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving.

(Xinhua/NAN)