Italian motorcyclist Luca Manca has been critically injured in the sixth stage of the Dakar Rally Argentina-Chile, suffering head injuries in a fall on Thursday from his KTM motor.

Reports said he was moved to the Cobre de Calama hospital, where officials described his condition as critical and said he also had several bone fractures and other minor injuries.

Thursday's sixth stage covers 598 kilometers through the Atacama desert in northern Chile from Antofagasta to Iquique.