Seventeen people were killed Tuesday in a devastating head-on crash between a minibus taxi and a haulage truck in northeastern Zimbabwe.
The collision occurred near Chitungwiza, a densely populated town 25 kilometres southeast of Harare, police said. The truck reportedly veered into the opposite lane after the driver lost control.
Before the impact, the truck struck two pedestrians walking on a central island, according to police spokesman Paul Nyathi. Both pedestrians were killed.
Fifteen passengers inside the minibus died instantly, while others were injured and taken to hospital for treatment.
Eyewitnesses described a scene of horror. The minibus was crushed beyond recognition, with its remains trapped beneath the truck’s undercarriage.
Rescuers struggled for hours to retrieve the dead and injured from the wreckage, surrounded by twisted metal and shattered glass strewn across the road.
The crash unfolded in the morning, but by noon, emergency crews were still working to recover bodies from the mangled vehicles.
Chitungwiza Mayor Rosaria Mangoma called the tragedy one of the most traumatic in the town’s memory and urged the government to declare it a national disaster.
Deadly road accidents are tragically common in Zimbabwe, often involving public transport vehicles driven at high speeds to maximise fares.
The country’s aging and poorly maintained roads further contribute to the danger, especially in rural and peri-urban areas.
In February, 24 people died in a similar head-on crash near Beitbridge, close to the South African border.
Zimbabwe, a nation of roughly 15 million, records a road accident every 15 minutes. At least five people die daily in such incidents, official statistics show.
Authorities continue to investigate the cause of Tuesday’s crash and have called for stricter road safety enforcement.
