BULAWAYO – Up to 18 people were killed on Thursday after a South Africa-bound Toyota Quantum exploded near Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage, 25km east of Bulawayo on the road to Beitbridge.
Witnesses reported the vehicle being flung into the air after it suddenly burst into flames in what police described as an “explosion.”
The Bulawayo Fire Brigade and army bomb squad were deployed to the scene, where a large crater was observed in the middle of the tarred road.
Vehicle and human body parts were strewn over a 50-metre radius, and roadside grass caught fire after the blast.
National police spokesman Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the death toll could not be immediately established, estimating that “plus or minus 18 people” were killed.
A forensic examination of the remains and DNA testing could be employed to identify the dead – a process that could take weeks.
One witness, a miner from Filabusi, told ZimLive he had seen remnants of what he recognised as industrial explosives, suggesting the driver was probably smuggling explosives to South Africa, where they are used in illegal mining and cash-in-transit heists.
Investigators began the work of piecing together how such a violent explosion occurred inside a public transport vehicle.
The Bulawayo–Beitbridge highway was closed after the accident at around 2PM, with police saying it would not reopen for at least 12 hours.
If confirmed, the blast would expose the thriving smuggling of illegal explosives through Beitbridge — material South African authorities say is driving a surge in armed robberies and illegal mining.
Explosives are highly regulated in Zimbabwe under the Explosives Act and accompanying regulations, including S.I. 72 of 1989, which govern the manufacture, possession, storage, transport, and use of explosives. No person may purchase, acquire, or possess explosives without a permit – but the surge in unregulated mining across the country has created a black market for cheap explosives, some of which are smuggled into South Africa where demand is high.
Last Friday, Zimbabwean truck driver Edgar Maroto, 42, was arrested by South African police after trying to smuggle explosives worth nearly R770,000 into the country.
The truck was reportedly pulling a trailer with a concealed compartment used to hide the explosives.
In a separate incident, an Inter Africa bus overturned in Esigodini on Thursday morning, injuring 19 people.
Bulawayo Chief Fire Officer Mhlangano Moyo said: “We received a report of an Inter Africa bus that lost control at Danger, Esigodini, along the Gwanda road. The bus landed on its side off the road. No persons were trapped.”
