TWO air force jets sideswiped each other after conducting a fly-past during General Solomon Mujuru’s state funeral, dropping some metal wreckage but landed safely.
Three Chinese-built K8 jets flew in formation over the Heroes Acre as retired Gen. Mujuru was being laid to rest on Saturday.
Broken metal pieces from the two colliding jets fell near the National Sports Stadium a few hundred yards from the cemetery where Zimbabwe's political leaders and more than 40,000 mourners were gathered, military spokesman Col. Overson Mugwisi told the state Sunday Mail newspaper.
There were no reported injuries.
“There was an incident at the National Heroes’ Acre immediately after the flypast when the aircraft side-swiped and a few metal particles fell to the ground,” Col. Mugwisi said.
“However, the aircraft flew back and safely landed at Manyame Air Base (and) both pilots are safe and were not injured.
Witnesses told the newspaper that one of the jets rolled over in the air twice before the pilot regained control and veered off toward the nearby Harare air force base.