At least 27 people were killed Friday evening when a haulage truck collided head-on with a minibus taxi carrying members of a church group in central Zimbabwe. The crash happened near Chivhu, about 140 kilometers south of the capital, Harare, at approximately 18:30 GMT.
According to Al Jazeera, police spokesperson Paul Nyathi said Saturday that the truck was attempting to overtake another vehicle when it struck the minibus. The passengers were members of a popular African Christian denomination traveling to a conference.
State-run broadcaster ZBC News, citing a provincial government minister, reported that 23 people died at the scene. Others succumbed to their injuries after being taken to a local hospital. Footage shared on social media by ZBC showed the minibus burned to a shell, with the truck on the opposite side of the road. The crash occurred on a flat, remote stretch of road lined with low vegetation and open terrain.
The incident is the latest in a long pattern of fatal road crashes in Zimbabwe. The country's roads are riddled with potholes following years of underfunding and neglect. Many Zimbabweans rely on privately operated minibus taxis, known locally as kombi, for daily transportation. These vehicles are frequently criticized for overloading passengers.
In April, at least 18 people were killed when a minibus caught fire on a highway in the south. Earlier that same month, a woman and her five children died when their vehicle collided with a haulage truck on a highway connecting Zimbabwe and South Africa.
No further details about the number of survivors or the condition of those hospitalized were immediately available Saturday.
