Dar es salam (Alshahid)-At least Forty two immigrants believed to be from Ethiopia have been found dead in a truck in central Tanzania, after suffocating, Deputy Interior Minister Pereira Silima said.

Local officials said more than 120 people had been packed into the truck, which was headed for Malawi.

Tanzanian and Malawi have become key staging posts for people fleeing drought and conflict in Somalia and Ethiopia, and trying to reach South Africa.

Mr Silima explained that the majority were old, while the young survived, though they were very weak.

The bodies of the deceased were taken to hospital yesterday for examination and efforts were underway to contact the Ethiopian Embassy for further action.

Last week, the bodies of 47 Ethiopians were recovered from Lake Malawi, which forms much of the border with Tanzania, after their overcrowded boat capsized.

In December last year, 20 Somali immigrants were found dead in Tanzania while trying to reach South Africa, the continent’s economic hub.