Suspected illegal migrants were in lorry ferrying tobacco when it overturned.
At least 12 Ethiopians died and a dozen others injured in a road accident in Mozambique’s northwestern Tete province on Saturday, the police said.
Mozambican authorities said the suspected illegal migrants were in lorry that was also ferrying tobacco when it overturned in Tsangano district.
Local media reported that the driver took off after the accident.
The southern African country is a major transit route for migrants, used by human traffickers to ferry Ethiopians and Somalis to South Africa.
Last year, Mozambique deported at least 4,000 foreign nationals in a crackdown against illegal migration.