Twenty-four people killed in vehicle rollover in northern Yemen

Apr 22, 2010, 17:11 GMT

Sana'a, Yemen - Twenty-four people from a single family - including six children and 17 women - were killed in a high-speed rollover of a pickup carrying them north-east of the Yemeni capital Sana'a on Thursday, the state news agency Saba reported.

The agency said the truck veered off a highway in Marib province, around 170 kilometres north-east of Sana'a, after its driver lost control of the truck.

It said the speeding vehicle rolled over several times down a hillside.

The only survivor from the accident was a ten-year-old boy, Saba reported, quoting the head of the traffic police in Marib, Muhammad Abu-Luhoum. The boy was rushed to a hospital in Marib for medical treatment, Abu-Luhom said.

Traffic accidents claim the lives of around 3,000 people in Yemen every year, according to official figures.

In the first three months of this year, 625 people were killed and 4,578 injured in 3,420 accidents across the country.

Some 3,041 people were killed and 19,828 injured in accidents during 2009, according to traffic police data.

Authorities usually blame traffic accidents on excessive speed, recklessness and chewing of the mild stimulant drug khat by drivers.

Some 37,819 people were killed and more than 224,000 injured in road accidents in Yemen during the period from 1990 to 2007, according to figures published by the Interior Ministry.