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Freedom Mupanedemo, Midlands Bureau
Six people were killed while 21 others were injured when a Mercedes Benz Sprinter they were travelling on from a church gathering, was side-swiped by a UD truck just outside Mvuma town along the Mvuma-Gweru highway on Sunday night.

The minibus was carrying congregants of the Body of Christ Pentecostal Church led by Apostle Golden Zinhumwe.

They were coming from a church gathering in Buhera and were on their way to Bulawayo.

The minibus had 26 passengers on board.

The horror crash pained many people in the mining town as it occurred barely three days after another accident, again in Mvuma, claimed 10 lives on Friday morning when two minibuses carrying members of different churches collided along the Harare-Masvingo Highway.

The truck and the commuter omnibus that side swiped along Gweru-Mvuma Highway killing six people

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the latest accident.

He said the injured were ferried to Mvuma District Hospital while two who were critically injured, were transferred to Gweru Provincial Hospital.

Eyewitnesses said the driver of the UD truck encroached onto the oncoming lane, resulting in the accident.

It is said the driver did not stop after the crash, but later abandoned his truck after it developed a mechanical fault about 20km from the accident scene.

“The UD truck driver was at fault, I think he was dozing on the steering wheel. The bad part of it is that he did not stop.

“He tried to drive away but the truck later developed a fault, I think due to the accident and he then dumped it and fled on foot,” said Mr Aaron Maphosa.

He said both the truck owner and the driver were still to be identified by yesterday afternoon.

An accident victim, Mrs Loraine Shava, said the majority of the occupants were asleep when the accident occurred around 11:30pm.

“Luckily I was on the other end and have minor scratches. Those who were seated on the side that was side-swiped, were badly injured and some died on the spot,” she said.

Acting District Development Coordinator for Mvuma, Ms Margret Mhlanga, said the latest accident happened when the nation was still mourning 10 people who died on Good Friday.

She said the death toll in Mvuma District alone during the Easter holidays had reached 19 as of yesterday.

Ms Mhlanga said apart from the 16 who died in minibuses, two other people coming from a church gathering in Masvingo died near Chaka on Saturday, while one person was hit while trying to cross the highway near Chaka Business Centre.