Carnival tragedy as truck kills at least 20

At least 20 people, among them many children, were killed and scores more injured after a truck ploughed into a crowd of carnival revellers on Tuesday, Angolan media reported.

The accident, in the city of Lubango in southern Huila province, happened when the vehicle appeared to lose control of its brakes and ran into a gathering watching and taking part in the local carnival parade - a celebration popular across the entire country.

Radio Ecclesia and the national news agency, Angop, put the death toll at more than 30, and Radio Ecclesia said at least 70 more people were being treated in the local hospital.

"The hospital remains without the capacity to attend to the high number of injured, and the local authorities have launched an appeal to private clinics within the city to help treat the injured," it said on its website, adding that the morgue was struggling to cope with the number of bodies.

According to a correspondent from the station, police fired shots to calm a distraught crowd which gathered outside the morgue after the incident. Officials in Lubango could not immediately be reached for comment.

Carnival is celebrated widely across Angola. In the capital Luanda, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos joined thousands of other spectators to watch around 13 floats, all in fancy costumes, make their way down the city's sea-front Marginal.