LAGOS, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-three persons aboard a trailer loaded with cattle were confirmed dead after a crash in northern Nigeria's Zamfara State, local media reported on Friday.

Twenty passengers were killed on the spot in the accident on Wednesday night at the Gidan Kano village along the Sokoto Gusau road. Another three died in a hospital.

An witnesses said the trailer's driver lost control when he approached a very sharp bend at high speed at Gidan Kano and could not control it. The articulated vehicle then skidded off the road and somersaulted, witnesses said.

The witnesses said the trailer, which was conveying cattle to Lagos, was also overloaded with passengers who were poor travelers mostly hanging along the edges of the truck's body.

Public Relations Officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps Musa Kankiya said 16 other passengers sustained various degrees of injuries and were taken to Talata Mafara General Hospital for treatment.

Kankiya urged road users to avoid high speeding and reckless overtaking during the festive periods.