LIMA, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Nine people were killed and more than 20 others injured when a truck overturned on a highway in northern Peru's Cajamarca region, the state news agency Andina reported Monday.

　　The accident took place late Sunday on a highway linking San Pablo province with the Chilete district, some 870 km north of the capital Lima, the Highway Police was quoted as saying.

　　Preliminary reports suggested that the truck was overloaded with passengers and cargo, and traveling at a high speed, when it skidded off the highway and overturned.

　　Among the fatal victims were three adolescents. Some 23 people were injured, several in serious conditions, and have been taken to local hospitals, the report said.