A fuel spill followed by a fire occurred after the helicopter carrying Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo, his wife Lucy Muteke and four other people crashed in Marondera, preliminary findings by the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe have shown.
The authority’s Director General, George Mashababe, said investigators had not established what caused the helicopter to go down as they continued examining the crash site in Marondera, east of Harare.
“Preliminary findings show that fuel spilled on impact, followed by a fire that burnt the grass at the crash site,” Mashababe said on Thursday.
The helicopter had six people on board, including Chivayo, his wife, three other passengers and two pilots. It crashed at about 1700 local time (1500 GMT) on Wednesday in a rural area of Marondera.
Authorities were alerted after police received reports that an aircraft carrying six people had crashed, prompting emergency teams to respond to the scene.
The identities of all those who died had not been formally confirmed as of Thursday, with forensic experts still working to identify the bodies.
Family spokesperson Herbert Chivayo said the impact had made the identification process difficult as forensic experts continued examining the remains of the victims.
Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona, who visited the crash site, said he was “still in shock” following Chivayo’s death.
The authorities have yet to determine what caused the helicopter to crash. Investigators are continuing to examine the wreckage and other evidence at the site as they work to establish what happened before the aircraft went down.
Chivayo was a prominent Zimbabwean businessman, and news of his death has attracted widespread attention in the country.
Police are expected to formally release the identities of all the victims after the forensic identification process is completed.
Government spokesperson Nick Mangwana had earlier confirmed that nobody survived the crash, while saying authorities would establish the identities of those who died.
“Current information indicates that there were no survivors in this crash. The Zimbabwe Republic Police will confirm the names of the victims in due course,” Mangwana said in a statement issued on September 30.