MASVINGO – All six people onboard were killed on Friday when a Cessna 206 plane owned by diamond miner Rio Zim went down in the Zvamahande area near Mashava, Masvingo province.
The plane, which took off from Harare and was going to Murowa Diamonds Mine in Zvishavane, broke into pieces on impact.
The cause of the crash which happened at around 7AM is under investigation.
National police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said emergency services were deployed and air crash investigators were also at the scene.
This is the second plane crash involving a Rio Zim plane in eight months.
In February, a Piper 31 Navajo plane made an emergency landing in a field near Beatrice, injuring the five people onboard. The plane was flying diamonds to Harare.
Big mining companies prefer flying high value minerals to their secure facilities in Harare for security reasons, but many of the small planes able to land and takeoff from these mines are old and prone to technical faults.
