Six people, including two Indian nationals, were killed in a plane crash in Zimbabwe on September 30. The plane, a Cessna 206, which was en route from Harare to the Murowa diamond mine crashed shortly after taking off from Charles Prince Airport in Harare. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Harpal Randhawa, the owner of RioZim, a diversified mining firm producing gold and coal as well as refining nickel and copper, was killed, along with his son and four others, when the plane crashed in Mashava’s Zvamahande district, according to iHarare, a Zimbabwean news and media website.

The Cessna 206 aircraft, owned by RioZim, was en route from Harare to the Murowa diamond mine when the tragic incident occurred on Friday.

The single-engined aircraft crashed near the Murowa Diamonds mine, which is partly owned by RioZim.

The plane encountered a technical malfunction, which may have resulted in a mid-air explosion, before crashing into Peter Farm in the Zvamahande region.

According to the investigation, all passengers and staff onboard died in the disaster.

According to the Herald, a state-owned daily newspaper, four of the victims were foreigners and the other two Zimbabweans.

“The Zimbabwe Republic Police reported a plane crash which occurred on September 29 between 7.30 am and 8 am, where six people are confirmed dead,” police said.

“The Murowa Diamond Company (RioZim)-owned white and red Zcam aircraft had left Harare for the mine at 6 am and crashed about 6km from Mashava.”

RioZim acknowledged the crash and stated that it was working with the appropriate authorities to acquire additional information.

Police have not disclosed the names of the deceased, however writer and filmmaker Hopewell Chinono, a friend of Randhawa, confirmed his death.

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Harpal Randhawa, the owner of RioZim who died today in a plane crash in Zvishavane. Five other people including his son, who was also a pilot but a passenger on this flight, also died in the crash,” wrote Chinono on X.

“My thoughts are with his wife, family, friends and the RioZim community.”

According to the RioZim company secretary, a detailed statement will be released.

“I am unable to address the media at this time.” “We will, however, issue a statement as soon as possible,” he said.

Randhawa founded the $4-billion private equity business GEM Holdings.

Meanwhile, the local community and law police are collaborating to deal with the aftermath of the jet accident.

With inputs from PTI

Also Read: ‘Can they tell where they are?’: Shashi Tharoor shares video of South African cricketers struggling to say ‘Thiruvananthapuram

Six people, including two Indian nationals, were killed in a plane crash in Zimbabwe on September 30. The plane, a Cessna 206, which was en route from Harare to the Murowa diamond mine crashed shortly after taking off from Charles Prince Airport in Harare. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Harpal Randhawa, the owner of RioZim, a diversified mining firm producing gold and coal as well as refining nickel and copper, was killed, along with his son and four others, when the plane crashed in Mashava’s Zvamahande district, according to iHarare, a Zimbabwean news and media website.

The Cessna 206 aircraft, owned by RioZim, was en route from Harare to the Murowa diamond mine when the tragic incident occurred on Friday.

The single-engined aircraft crashed near the Murowa Diamonds mine, which is partly owned by RioZim.

The plane encountered a technical malfunction, which may have resulted in a mid-air explosion, before crashing into Peter Farm in the Zvamahande region.

According to the investigation, all passengers and staff onboard died in the disaster.

According to the Herald, a state-owned daily newspaper, four of the victims were foreigners and the other two Zimbabweans.

“The Zimbabwe Republic Police reported a plane crash which occurred on September 29 between 7.30 am and 8 am, where six people are confirmed dead,” police said.

“The Murowa Diamond Company (RioZim)-owned white and red Zcam aircraft had left Harare for the mine at 6 am and crashed about 6km from Mashava.”

RioZim acknowledged the crash and stated that it was working with the appropriate authorities to acquire additional information.

Police have not disclosed the names of the deceased, however writer and filmmaker Hopewell Chinono, a friend of Randhawa, confirmed his death.

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Harpal Randhawa, the owner of RioZim who died today in a plane crash in Zvishavane. Five other people including his son, who was also a pilot but a passenger on this flight, also died in the crash,” wrote Chinono on X.

“My thoughts are with his wife, family, friends and the RioZim community.”

According to the RioZim company secretary, a detailed statement will be released.

“I am unable to address the media at this time.” “We will, however, issue a statement as soon as possible,” he said.

Randhawa founded the $4-billion private equity business GEM Holdings.

Meanwhile, the local community and law police are collaborating to deal with the aftermath of the jet accident.

With inputs from PTI

Also Read: ‘Can they tell where they are?’: Shashi Tharoor shares video of South African cricketers struggling to say ‘Thiruvananthapuram

Speaking during an online meeting with Zimra officials, Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce Harare chapter vice-chair Amiel Matindike said clients suffered due to downtime at ports of entry, largely attributed to connectivity challenges and staff shortages within the revenue collector’s system.

THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) has come under fire from industry for poor service delivery resulting in customs clearance delays that cost businesses on a daily basis.

Speaking during an online meeting with Zimra officials, Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce Harare chapter vice-chair Amiel Matindike said clients suffered due to downtime at ports of entry, largely attributed to connectivity challenges and staff shortages within the revenue collector’s system.

He said clients are often told that the system is either down or slow.

“This has been worse due to redirecting of traffic from Kariba to Chirundu and, unfortunately, we have no means to verify some of these things,” Matindike said.

Business, according to Matindike, was also concerned with some Zimra staffers during audits which he said were sometimes lengthy while disrupting operations.

“Our members are speaking from a position of fear and say it’s like they are being interrogated. We also request that Zimra specifies what type of audit it would be carrying out and the duration otherwise it’s difficult to have normal operations while the audits are going on,” Matindike said.

He added that Zimbabwe’s porous borders have resulted in the influx of smuggled goods posing a huge threat to the formal business sector.

However, Zimra commissioner customs and excise Batsirai Chadzingwa said the institution was currently tightening security at the points of entry, hence the intermittent delays experienced by clients.

He said this would be done through a multi-faced led project that is expected to be completed in 2024.

 Addressing the same virtual meeting, Zimra head of technical services Mathias Chinanayi said the staff shortages at border posts especially at Chirundu were due to accommodation challenges.

He said 19 Zimra employees were currently staying in lodges as the institution is yet to build its off own staff houses.

Participants also suggested that Zimra adopts the Starlink internet services to improve connectivity.

The Zimra officials said a recent management meeting had tasked the revenue collector to look into the feasibility of switching over to Starlink.

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