A truck driver and his young family perished in an accident on the Masvingo-Harare highway after his truck collided with a TLB and plunged into Mupfure River near Beatrice on Saturday afternoon.
It is alleged that the trucker, who was travelling with his wife and two kids, collided with the TLB on the Mupfure River bridge and both vehicles crashed through the barriers and plunged into the river below.
A witness who arrived moments after the crash said that he found both vehicles already submerged under the water.
Five people – the trucker, his wife and 2 children, and the TLB driver drowned and died while his passenger managed to swim to safety.
Read also: Both drivers killed in a two bus head-on collision in Zimbabwe
Another witness said that the two vehicles were travelling in the same direction, towards Harare, when they collided while trying to avoid a collision with a bus travelling in the opposite direction.
Zimbabwe police confirmed the horrific crash in a tweet.
1/2 The ZRP reports a fatal road traffic accident which occurred on 29/07/22 at the 54km peg along Harare –Masvingo road. A haulage truck with four occupants on board side swiped with an excavator with two people on board resulting in both vehicles falling in Mupfure River.
— Zimbabwe Republic Police (@PoliceZimbabwe) July 31, 2022
TLBs are a common sight on that stretch of the highway due to the construction ongoing in the area.
Watch: Trucker, wife and 2 babies perish as truck plunges into river in Zimbabwe crashhttps://t.co/huBIUhTcD5 pic.twitter.com/k1OfeLiMOi
— SA Trucker (@rsa_trucker) July 31, 2022
