Zimbabwe small plane crash kills 5, including 4 Finns

JOHANNESBURG – Four Finns have died in the crash of a small plane in Zimbabwe, Finland’s foreign ministry announced on Saturday, while the prime minister expressed condolences to the families of those killed.

The cause of the crash was not yet known. Zimbabwe’s state media reported that the plane had been en route to the popular tourist site of Victoria Falls when it crashed on Friday in Masvingo.

A district administrator, Roy Hove, confirmed five deaths overall, telling the newspaper the bodies were “decapitated and mangled beyond recognition.”

Police in a statement said the plane crashed into a hillside.

“This is a horrible tragedy,” Finland’s honorary consul in Harare, Jim Ward, told Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat. He said the purpose of the group’s trip was unknown.

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Associated Press writer Jari Tanner in Helsinki, Finland contributed.

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