Five bodies, including a heavily pregnant woman and three of her relatives, have been retrieved from a disused chrome pit in Shurugwi after a Honda Fit plunged into the 30-metre-deep pit on Sunday evening.
Shurugwi District Development Coordinator (DDC) Romeo Shangwa told The Mirror that the fifth body was retrieved on Wednesday morning after water was pumped out of the shaft overnight. The other four bodies were recovered with the help of the Police Sub Aqua Unit.
Shangwa also said that the sixth passenger managed to swim out of the pit when the vehicle submerged.
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) spokesperson for Midlands Province, Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko, said the names of the deceased are yet to be released.
The Honda Fit was en route to Zvishavane at the time of the incident.
Abandoned chrome pits have long been a concern for Shurugwi villagers, who have repeatedly urged the government to ensure they are re-filled.
In January this year, a female inmate from Shurugwi lost her two young children after they drowned while swimming in one of the pits.
In a related incident, Tinashe Chigiya (26) from Makandire Village, Chief Nhema, Shurugwi, had a confrontation with a ZANU PF councillor in January this year following the drowning of a child in the Musavezi River.
Chigiya reportedly blamed President Emmerson Mnangagwa and ZANU PF supporters for allowing Chinese nationals to extract sand from the river, leaving behind open pits that pose a danger to children and livestock.
Chigiya is currently in remand prison after being arrested on allegations made by Ward 8 Councillor Audreck Mhaka, who claimed that Chigiya insulted Mnangagwa by calling him a dog.