4 family members die in Beitbridge minibus crash

FOUR people, including two 13-year-old girls died on the spot and several others seriously injured when a minibus veered off the road and hit a tree near Lion and Elephant Motel in Mwenezi along the Beitbridge - Masvingo road.

All the victims were from the same family and were travelling to South Africa for the festive holidays. Some survivors have been admitted the Beitbridge District Hospital while others were treated and discharged.

"I had just finished pulling a blanket over them when I heard a loud bang and felt my head was wet when I realized we had been involved in a crash. My daughter who is 13 and her cousin were confirmed dead," Joyce Chayichayi, who survived the accident.

She said one of the deceased girls was her daughter.

"I am not sure if the driver is alive, he was just still on the steering but my cousin, a young adult and another child also died. I was injured on the head, back and legs are painful," said Chayichayi who had travelled from the neighbouring country to escort the children.

The officer commanding Beitbridge, chief superintendent Tichaona Nyongo said the accident, though closer to Beitbridge, had occurred in another district.