Plane crashes in Victoria Falls

News
TWO Australian tourists and a Germany pilot survived death by a whisker after their Cessna plane crashed near Victoria Falls Airport yesterday afternoon.

TWO Australian tourists and a Germany pilot survived death by a whisker after their Cessna plane crashed near Victoria Falls Airport yesterday afternoon.

Nokuthaba Dlamini Own correspondent

Officer commanding Victoria Falls police Jairos Chiwona confirmed the accident.

“I can confirm that we received report of an airplane accident, which happened this afternoon near Lupinyu business centre,” he said.

“We cannot reveal the names of the injured because their next of kin have not been notified. The three were ferried to hospital in a critical condition especially the pilot,” he said.

Sources said the plane was heading for Hwange National Park to pick more tourists before flying to Mana Pools.

“The crash happened few minutes after takeoff from the airport. The pilot communicated that he was turning back soon after takeoff because the plane was having engine problems,” the source said.

When Southern Eye visited the scene, police had already blocked the road to Lupinyu.

One of the eyewitnesses, Portia Shoko, said they saw the plane before it crashed.

“We saw it flying past, but it immediately turned and was now moving at a very slow speed. We suspected something was not right,” she said.

“As we were still talking we heard a loud noise near our fields and we ran and towards the scene.

“We saw the plane hitting trees before it crashed. We then attended the scene and rescued the victims. All of them seemed to have sustained injuries, but the pilot was severely injured and bleeding profusely.

“He also had serious head injuries.”

The six-seater is owned by safari lodge and was used to ferry tourists around the country.