Eight people have died after two vehicles heading towards Murehwa side swiped before plunging into a river at the 40km peg near Murehwa along the Harare-Nyamapanda road Friday night.

One of the vehicles, a Toyota Quantum had an unverified number of passengers while the other had three passengers.

Police Spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the side swipe happened when the driver of the Quantum lost control of the vehicle while trying to overtake.

Both vehicles plunged into a nearby river as a result of the impact of their collision. He said the sub-aqua unit has been summoned to search the river in case there could be other bodies.

The dead were taken to Murehwa Hospital mortuary while the injured were taken to Parirenyatwa hospital in Harare. Assistant Commissioner Nyathi urged drivers not to travel at night and said they should desist from overtaking at wrong places.

He said it is sad that motorists are not taking heed of the call to be cautious on roads.

— ZBC