Zimbabwe minibus taxi carrying church members crashes, killing 27

A minibus taxi carrying church members collided with a haulage truck in central Zimbabwe on Friday, resulting in 27 fatalities. According to police spokesperson Paul Nyathi, the minibus was carrying members of a popular indigenous African Christian denomination, known for wearing white robes, to a conference. The crash occurred near Chivhu, about 140 kilometres south of the capital Harare.

The foreign-registered haulage truck was overtaking another vehicle when it collided head-on with the minibus. Seven people were injured in the crash. Footage shared on social media showed the mangled minibus charred to a shell, with the truck coming to rest on the opposite side of the road. The number of passengers in both vehicles was not specified.

The incident is the latest in a series of road disasters to hit Zimbabwe. According to authorities, 94% of road accidents in the country occur due to human error. Many Zimbabweans rely on privately operated minibus taxis, known locally as kombis, for everyday transportation, and these vehicles are often criticized for carrying more passengers than allowed.

Brief written by urgent.news from Daily Times, Business Recorder, Qatar Tribune, DW News, DW English (Top Stories) — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.