23 funeral attenders killed in road crash in Zimbabwe

A total of 23 mourners to attend a funeral were killed Wednesday morning in southeast Zimbabwe as the truck they boarded crashed with a fuel tanker, police and local media reports said. The truck, carrying 30 mourners and the coffin of their deceased relative, collided head-on with the ethanol tanker about 15 km away from Checheche Growth point, near Chipinge town, causing it to explode and be engulfed by fire, local police said. Police did not disclose the casualty figures but local media put the death toll at 23, adding that bodies have not yet been fully recovered from the wreckage. Road accidents are common in Zimbabwe where the authorities blame poor road conditions, bad driving habits like speeding, and lax law enforcement for the growing road crashes.