6 dead in southern Zimbabwe plane crash

By Jeffrey Moyo

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AA) — An airplane owned by a diamond mining company crashed in southern Zimbabwe on Friday, killing all six people on board, including the pilot.

Emergency services were sent to the scene where the plane, owned by Rio Zim, crashed and broke into pieces in the Mashava area of Masvingo province, National Police spokesman Paul Nyathi told reporters in the capital Harare.

Having taken off minutes earlier from Harare early in the morning, it was heading to the Murowa diamond mine in Zvishavane, a town in the central Midlands province.

Air crash investigators are at the scene as well, Nyathi added. The cause of the crash remains unclear but police investigations are underway.

This was not the first incident involving a plane owned by Rio Zim to crash this year.

In February, a Piper 31 Navajo utility aircraft belonging to the company made an emergency landing in a field mere kilometers south of Harare, injuring the five people onboard.