At least 78 people were killed and dozens more injured after a truck, heavily loaded with goods and passengers, crashed in the Central African Republic, a doctor said on Wednesday. The accident occurred on Tuesday around 10 km outside the town of Bambari as the vehicle was travelling to a weekly market day in Maloum village, Reuters reported.

“At the moment, we have counted 78 dead and 72 wounded,” said Chamberlain Bama, the chief doctor at the university hospital in Bambari. “Some wounded were taken directly to their homes from the accident scene and died there some time after, but most died here.”

A member of Parliament from Bambari said the truck was travelling faster than normal.

“They were driving fast to make it to the market on time,” Amaseka Topi told Reuters. “That’s what probably caused the accident.”

Most of the victims were travelling on the back of the lorry, local trader Oumar Tidjani told DPA news agency.