- A minibus taxi carrying members of an indigenous African Christian denomination collided head-on with a haulage truck on a major highway near Chivhu town, Zimbabwe
- The truck was attempting to overtake another vehicle when it struck the minibus Friday night, about 132 kilometres south of the capital, Harare
- Zimbabwe police spokesperson Paul Nyathi confirmed the death toll on Saturday, as the country continues to record one of Africa’s worst road safety records
Twenty-seven people died after a haulage truck and a minibus taxi carrying church members collided on a major highway in Zimbabwe on Friday night, police said.
Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi confirmed the toll on Saturday, August 29, saying the victims were members of a popular indigenous African Christian denomination known for wearing white robes.
Source: Twitter
The group was travelling to a conference when the crash occurred near Chivhu town, roughly 132 kilometres south of Harare.
Nyathi said the truck’s driver was attempting to overtake another vehicle when the lorry struck the minibus head-on. Both vehicles were reported to be carrying an “unspecified” number of passengers at the time.
What happened at the crash scene
The minibus caught fire on impact and was left a burnt-out shell, according to local media reports accompanied by photographs of the wreckage. State broadcaster ZBC News, quoting a provincial government minister, reported that 23 people died at the scene. Additional victims succumbed to their injuries after being taken to a nearby hospital, bringing the final toll to 27.
Zimbabwe’s road safety problem
The crash is the latest in a long series of fatal road accidents in Zimbabwe, where crowded buses, minibus taxis, and unregulated sedan taxis regularly feature in deadly incidents.
Authorities attribute 94% of road accidents in the country to human error, and Zimbabwe is consistently ranked among the nations with the worst road safety records on the continent.
Across Africa, road crashes claim roughly 300,000 lives every year, accounting for about a quarter of all road fatalities worldwide, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
The commission notes that Africa has the highest road fatality rate in the world, despite the continent’s 1.5 billion people owning only around 3% of the global vehicle fleet.
Source: Legit.ng