Deadly head-on collision near Chivhu

At least 27 people were killed when a minibus carrying church members collided head-on with a haulage truck in central Zimbabwe on Friday, police said. The crash occurred at about 18:30 GMT near Chivhu, roughly 140 kilometers (87 miles) south of the capital, Harare, according to police spokesperson Paul Nyathi.

Nyathi said the truck was attempting to overtake another vehicle when it crashed into the minibus, which was carrying members of a popular Indigenous African Christian denomination, known for wearing white robes, who were traveling to a conference. Seven people were injured in the collision.

The truck involved was foreign-registered, Nyathi said in a statement, adding that both vehicles were carrying an unspecified number of passengers.

Casualties and aftermath

State-run broadcaster ZBC News, quoting a provincial government minister, reported that 23 people died at the scene, while others succumbed to their injuries after being admitted to a local hospital. Footage shared on social media by ZBC showed the mangled minibus charred to a shell, with the truck on the opposite side of the road.

The crash occurred on a flat, remote stretch of road, with low vegetation lining the roadside and open terrain beyond.

Road safety concerns

The incident is the latest in a string of deadly crashes on Zimbabwe's roads, which authorities say are often caused by human error. Many Zimbabweans rely on privately operated minibus taxis, known locally as kombis, for everyday transportation, but these vehicles are frequently criticized for overloading.

Zimbabwe's roads are also riddled with potholes after years of underfunding and neglect, and driving standards can be poor.

In April, at least 18 people were killed when a minibus burst into flames on a highway in the south, and earlier that month a woman and her five children died when their vehicle collided with a haulage truck on another highway linking Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Broader regional context

Road crashes kill about 300,000 people across Africa each year, accounting for roughly a quarter of the global road death toll, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. The continent has the world's highest road fatality rate, the commission says, despite Africa's 5 billion people accounting for only about 3% of the world's vehicle fleet.