3 perish in Shurugwi road accident

THREE people died on the spot yesterday in a head-on collision involving a commuter omnibus and a Toyota Gaia at the 23km peg along the Gweru-Shurugwi Road.

Acting provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Ethel Mukwende could not be reached for comment, but a police officer who attended the scene of the accident confirmed the fatalities, saying preliminary investigations showed that the collision was caused by the kombi driver, who attempted to overtake on a curve.

“The driver of the Isuzu 15-seater kombi attempted to overtake on a sharp curve, resulting in the head-on collision. The driver of the Gaia and a passenger died on the spot, while one passenger from the commuter omnibus also died on the spot,” the police officer, said.

He said 19 injured passengers were taken to Shurugwi District and Gweru Provincial hospitals.

In a separate incident, fire gutted down a building in Gweru’s central business district, destroying property worth thousands of dollars, as local fire fighters failed to contain the inferno.

The fire, believed to have been caused by an electrical fault, was later put off by Air Force of Zimbabwe fire tenders.

BY Stephen Chadenga