Zimbabwe, cotton seed bales go up in smoke

Conrad Mupesa — Mash West Bureau AT least 85 bales of cotton seed, weighing over 25 tonnes were on Saturday morning burnt in transit along the Chinhoyi-Chegutu Road. The cotton had been ferried from a buying point in Rafingora and the truck was destined for a Cottco Zimbabwe ginnery in Chinhoyi. The bales were reduced to ashes, about a kilometre before reaching the ginnery at Christos Shops. When The Herald visited the scene, Cottco personnel and touts were busy trying to salvage the bales as Chinhoyi Municipality fire tender failed to make it to the site. The desperate efforts by the team failed to yield any positive results as the raging fire gutted the fully loaded trailer. Witnesses said the driver was alerted of the fire by other drivers before he pulled off the road. "When he pulled off the road to investigate, he realised that the whole load was up in smoke. We helped him remove the tank and unhook the trailer from the horse," said Archim James. The fire is suspected to ...