Chronicle Editor
Freeman Razemba, Harare Bureau
FIFTEEN church members died while 41 others were seriously injured when a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter commuter omnibus they were travelling in collided head-on with a haulage truck at the 53km peg along the Harare-Masvingo Highway yesterday.
The group was on its way to a church gathering in Chivhu when tragedy struck at around 4pm near the Beatrice area.
The commuter omnibus was heading towards Chivhu while the truck was travelling towards Harare.
Some of the injured were rushed to Beatrice Hospital while others were taken to Chitungwiza Central Hospital.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the accident.
“The ZRP confirms a fatal road traffic accident which occurred this afternoon (yesterday) at around 1600 hours at the 53km peg along Harare-Masvingo Road in which 15 people were killed after a Sprinter kombi travelling towards Masvingo was involved in a head-on collision with a truck travelling towards Harare. More details will be released in due course,” he said.
The accident comes as police and other stakeholders continue to call for responsible driving on the country’s roads.
Zimbabwe continues to lose lives on the roads due to human error.
On Independence Day, nine people were killed while 25 others were injured in 100 road traffic accidents recorded countrywide.
During the same period last year, four people were killed while 22 others were injured in 133 road accidents recorded.
This year, there was an increase in the number of people who died in road accidents as well as the number of people injured.
Police attributed most of the accidents to human error, which included speeding, inattention, misjudgment, overtaking errors and failure to observe road rules and regulations by drivers.
Twenty-seven other people were killed while 159 were injured in 286 road traffic accidents recorded during this year’s Easter holiday.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter