17 dead in head-on collision between minibus taxi and truck in Zimbabwe, police say

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A head-on collision between a minibus taxi and a haulage truck killed 17 people in northeastern Zimbabwe on Tuesday police said.

Police spokesman Paul Nyathi said all 17 victims, including some pedestrians, died at the scene of the crash, which happened near Chitungwiza, a densely populated town about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) southeast of the capital, Harare.

Nyathi said the truck veered into the opposite lane and collided with the minibus after the driver lost control. Before the impact, the truck struck two pedestrians walking on the “island of the road,” he said.

Fifteen of the 17 passengers in the minibus died instantly, while others were injured and rushed to a hospital.

The state-run Herald newspaper reported that the minibus was “completely flattened, with only fragments of its chassis visible from beneath the truck’s undercarriage.”

Twisted metal, shattered glass and debris were strewn across the road as rescuers worked to retrieve trapped passengers, the newspaper said. The accident happened in the morning, but rescuers were still recovering bodies at noon, it reported.

Chitungwiza Mayor Rosaria Mangoma urged the government to declare the crash a national disaster, calling it “one of the most disturbing and traumatic scenes” the town had witnessed.

Deadly road accidents involving public transportation are common in Zimbabwe, where speeding is widespread as drivers attempt to maximize daily trips. Poorly maintained roads add to the danger.

In February, 24 people were killed in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck near Beitbridge, on the border with South Africa.

Zimbabwe, with a population of about 15 million, records a road accident every 15 minutes, killing at least five people daily — one of the highest fatality rates in Africa, according to the national statistics agency.