Up to 25 people, most of them women and children, were killed Thursday in a road accident in the eastern Yemeni province of Marib, state-run Saba news agency reported.

The accident took place when a vehicle overloaded with people overturned in Harib district, about 75km to the south of the capital city of Marib province, leaving 17 women, six children and two men dead.

The victims belong to the same family, the report added, quoting as saying the Interior Ministry's provincial director of traffic in Marib, Mohamed Abu-Luhoum.

Luhoum blamed excessive speed for the mishap, saying the driver lost control of the vehicle.