Key facts
- A helicopter crashed in Zimbabwe's northeastern Marondera rural area on Wednesday.
- All seven people aboard the helicopter died in the crash.
- The passengers included a high-profile businessman and four others, along with two pilots.
A helicopter crashed in Zimbabwe's northeastern Marondera rural area on Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of all seven individuals on board, according to government spokesperson Nick Mangwana. The aircraft was carrying a high-profile businessman, four passengers, and two pilots.
Earlier reports from the police indicated that an aircraft carrying six people had crashed in the same area around 5:00 p.m. local time, and emergency services were dispatched to the scene.
This incident is separate from a September 15, 2023, event where Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa's helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff in Masvingo. The president was not on board that aircraft, and the crew survived. That crash was preliminarily attributed to a technical malfunction, and the country's Civil Aviation Authorities were investigating.
Another unrelated helicopter crash occurred in New Mexico on January 17, 2018, killing five people, including Zimbabwean opposition leader Roy Bennett and his wife Heather, as well as businessman Charles Burnett III. Ranchers were among the first to reach the wreckage of that fiery crash, where a sole survivor, Andra Cobb, was able to escape.