An Air Zimbabwe plane experiencing engine failure burst two tyres during an emergency landing at the north-west resort of Victoria Falls, state-run media reported on Thursday.
An unspecified number of passengers complained of minor injuries during Wednesday’s landing, according to the Herald, a government mouthpiece.
The new Chinese-built plane, which seats up to 32 people, was headed from Victoria Falls to the capital, Harare, when it was forced to land.
The cash-strapped national carrier has suffered a series of woes. Some of the airline’s planes are nearly 30 years old, and passengers mistrust the safety record of its newest acquisitions, three small Chinese MA60 turboprop planes used on domestic routes since last year.
Two of the planes were grounded earlier this year while awaiting spare parts and servicing because the airline was unable to clear $12-million in arrears, airline officials said.
They were brought back into operation this week.
Zimbabwe is in the midst of its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1980. The seizure of thousands of white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to black Zimbabweans, combined with successive years of drought, has crippled the key agriculture sector. The country suffers acute shortages of hard currency, fuel, spare parts and other imports. — Sapa-AP