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Freedom Mupanedemo and Stella Manzini
Seven people were killed, while 55 others were injured when a Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) bus, two kombis and a Honda Fit collided at the 290km peg along the Kwekwe-Harare highway yesterday afternoon.
According to eyewitnesses, tragedy struck when the Honda Fit encroached into the lane of the Harare-bound bus, resulting in the vehicles side-swiping.
The bus then hit a kombi parked on the left side of the road, which then hit another kombi which was parked in front of it.
Three of the six passengers who were in the Honda Fit died on the spot and so did one in one of the kombis and two on the bus.
One other passenger, who was on the bus, succumbed to his injuries on admission to Kwekwe General Hospital.
When The Herald news team arrived at the accident scene, the wreckage of the bus leaning on a huge tree, loud screams of passengers trapped in the vehicles and two defaced Toyota Hiace kombis painted a horrific picture of the crash.
Onlookers and passers-by watched in awe as firefighters and police officers worked from one wreckage to the other to save lives.
The dead lay on the tarmac, while the injured writhed in pain as citizen journalists took pictures.
Emmerson Chimuchembere, a conductor in one of the kombis, said they were loading coffins when they saw the bus driver struggling to control the bus.
“We had a client who had ordered coffins, so we were busy loading them on top of the kombi when we heard skidding noise.
“I dropped the coffin and ran for dear life and it was a close shave,” he said.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the accident.
Online Reporter