Twenty-seven churchgoers are killed after a minibus crashes head-on with an overtaking truck in Zimbabwe

Twenty-three people died at the scene and the rest in hospital after a minibus carrying members of an indigenous African Christian denomination struck an oncoming haulage truck on the highway linking Harare to Chivhu, 132km to the south, and burst into flames. Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi said the truck pulled out to pass another vehicle and hit the minibus head-on; seven people are reported to have survived.

The worshippers, dressed in white robes and members of a popular indigenous African Christian denomination, were en route to a conference.

The minibus was reduced to a burnt-out shell by the fire, and images of the wreckage were widely circulated by local media.

Zimbabwe is among the world's worst countries for road safety, with authorities attributing 94 per cent of road accidents to human error.