HARARE – At least 9 people were confirmed dead on Saturday following a fatal head-on collision between two cross-border buses in Beitbridge.

The tragedy occurred at the Tshamunanga area, some 12 kilomitres from Beitbridge town along the Masvingo earlier in the day.

According to reports, a Harare bound City bus collided with a Blue Circle bus travelling from Kadoma to the border town resulting in the fatalities.

Witnesses said one of the buses hit a donkey and swerved to the oncoming traffic lane resulting in the collision.

District Civil Protection Committee Chairperson, Sikhangezile Mafu Moyo who is also the District Development Coordinator confirmed the incident.

She said the civil protection members reacted swiftly upon getting a report of the incident and managed to get the injured in time to the hospital.

Mafu Moyo said seven people died on the spot while two died upon admission at the hospital.

“Eight people who were critical have been transferred to Bulawayo while the other 30 are being attended to at the local Hospital,” she said.

“At the same time, we want to pass our condolences to the families who lost relatives in the accident and we wish a quick recovery to the hospitalised.”

The incident follows another tragic one in which 15 Zimbabweans died during the week after a bus they were travelling in from Harare was involved in a fatal collision with a truck some 130 kilometres from Cape Town, South Africa.