A horrific head-on collision between a minibus taxi and a large haulage truck tragically claimed seventeen lives in northeastern Zimbabwe on Tuesday.
Police spokesman Paul Nyathi confirmed all seventeen victims, including several pedestrians, died instantly at the scene near Chitungwiza, southeast of Harare.
Nyathi elaborated that the truck veered uncontrollably into the opposite lane, losing driver control before directly colliding with the approaching minibus and striking two pedestrians.
Fifteen of the seventeen passengers inside the minibus died instantly, while other injured survivors were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital for urgent medical care.
The state-run Herald newspaper reported the minibus was “completely flattened,” with only fragments of its chassis visible beneath the truck’s undercarriage on the devastated road.
Twisted metal, shattered glass, and various debris were reportedly strewn across the road as rescuers worked to retrieve desperately trapped passengers for hours.
Chitungwiza Mayor Rosaria Mangoma urged the government to officially declare the crash a national disaster, calling it profoundly disturbing and traumatic for the community.
Deadly road accidents involving public transportation are unfortunately common across Zimbabwe, largely due to prevalent speeding and poorly maintained national roads.
Drivers often attempt to maximize their daily trips, significantly contributing to the alarming frequency of these fatal incidents occurring nationwide.
Just in February, a devastating head-on collision between a bus and a truck near Beitbridge tragically killed twenty-four people, highlighting the ongoing crisis.
Zimbabwe, with an approximate population of 15 million, records a road accident every fifteen minutes, resulting in at least five daily fatalities, a grim statistic.
This grim statistic represents one of the highest road accident fatality rates across the entire African continent, according to the national statistics agency.