 Zambezi ( in Zambia ) , the resort had endured as one of Rhodesia 's choice tourist destinations . The flight on 3 September 1978 , Sunday afternoon , from Kariba to Salisbury carried four crew members and 52 passengers , most of whom were holidaymakers from Salisbury , returning home after a weekend at the lake . The flight took off from Kariba Airport on schedule soon after 17 : 00 Central Africa Time .   Flight 825 was piloted by 36 @-@ year @-@ old Captain John Hood , a native of Bulawayo who had gained his commercial pilot licence in 1966 . He had flown Viscounts for Air Rhodesia since 1968 , and had also served in the Rhodesian Air Force on a voluntary basis . His first officer , Garth Beaumont , was 31 years old , and had lived in Rhodesia for most of his life , having immigrated as a child from South Africa . The two air stewardesses were Dulcie Esterhuizen , 21 years old and from Bulawayo , and 23 @-@ year @-@ old Louise Pearson , from Salisbury .   = = = Shootdown = = =   A group of ZIPRA guerrillas , armed with a Strela @-@ 2 launcher , waited in the bush beneath Flight 825 's flightpath , and fired on the Hunyani about five minutes after it took off , while the aircraft was still in the climb phase of its flight . The heat @-@ seeking missile hit the plane 's starboard wing and exploded , causing the inner engine to also explode . A fuel tank and hydraulic lines ruptured , creating a fire that the passengers and crew could not put out . The second starboard engine failed almost immediately , leaving Hood with only his two port engines . Heaving wildly , the Hunyani began to descend rapidly .   At 17 : 10 Captain Hood sent a distress call to air traffic control , informing them that he had lost the two starboard engines and was going to crash . " We 're going in , " he radioed . Telling his passengers to brace for an emergency landing , he aimed for an open field of cotton in the Whamira Hills , in the bush to the west of Karoi , intending to belly land the craft . The landing was relatively stable until the Hunyani hit a previously unseen ditch , cartwheeled and exploded . The remaining fuel tanks ruptured and caught fire , setting the wrecked cabin ablaze .   = = = Massacre on the ground = = =   Of the 56 people on board , 38 , including Hood and Beaumont , died in the crash . Eighteen survived , albeit with injuries , and climbed out of the wreckage . After briefly settling the others , one of the passengers , Dr Cecil MacLaren , led four others — young newlyweds Robert and Shannon Hargreaves , Mrs Sharon Coles , and her four @-@ year @-@ old daughter Tracey — off in the direction of a nearby village in search of water . The other 13 remained close to the wreckage . Meanwhile , nine guerrillas made their way towards the crash site , and reached it at about 17 : 45 . Three of the 13 survivors remaining at the crash site hid on seeing figures approaching : Rhodesian Army reservist Anthony Hill , 39 , took cover in the surrounding bush , while businessman Hans Hansen and his wife Diana did the same . This left 10 passengers in full view near the wreckage , including four women and two girls ( aged 11 and 4 ) .   The guerrillas , who were armed with AK @-@ 47 rifles , presented themselves to the 10 passengers as friendly , saying they would summon help and bring water . They spoke in English , both to the survivors and among themselves . They told the passengers to congregate around a point a few metres from the wreckage ; when the survivors said that some of them were too badly injured to walk , the insurgents told the able @-@ bodied men to carry the others . The passengers were assembled into an area of about 10 square metres ( 110 sq ft ) . Standing roughly 15 metres ( 49 ft ) away , the cadres now raised their weapons . " You have taken our land , " one of them said . " Please don 't shoot us ! " one of the passengers cried , just before they were killed by a sustained burst of automatic gunfire .   Having collected water from the nearby village , MacLaren and his companions were almost back at the crash site when they heard the shots . Thinking it was personal ammunition in the luggage exploding in the heat , they continued on their way , and called out to the other passengers , who they thought were still alive . This alerted the insurgents to the presence of more survivors ; one of the guerrillas told MacLaren 's group to " come here " . The insurgents then opened fire on their general location , prompting MacLaren and the others to flee . Hill and the Hansens also ran ;
ĠZam be zi Ġ( Ġin ĠZamb ia Ġ) Ġ, Ġthe Ġresort Ġhad Ġendured Ġas Ġone Ġof ĠRhodes ia Ġ' s Ġchoice Ġtourist Ġdestinations Ġ. ĠThe Ġflight Ġon Ġ3 ĠSeptember Ġ1978 Ġ, ĠSunday Ġafternoon Ġ, Ġfrom ĠKar iba Ġto ĠSal isbury Ġcarried Ġfour Ġcrew Ġmembers Ġand Ġ52 Ġpassengers Ġ, Ġmost Ġof Ġwhom Ġwere Ġholiday makers Ġfrom ĠSal isbury Ġ, Ġreturning Ġhome Ġafter Ġa Ġweekend Ġat Ġthe Ġlake Ġ. ĠThe Ġflight Ġtook Ġoff Ġfrom ĠKar iba ĠAirport Ġon Ġschedule Ġsoon Ġafter Ġ17 Ġ: Ġ00 ĠCentral ĠAfrica ĠTime Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠFlight Ġ8 25 Ġwas Ġpil oted Ġby Ġ36 Ġ@ - @ Ġyear Ġ@ - @ Ġold ĠCaptain ĠJohn ĠHood Ġ, Ġa Ġnative Ġof ĠBul away o Ġwho Ġhad Ġgained Ġhis Ġcommercial Ġpilot Ġlicence Ġin Ġ1966 Ġ. ĠHe Ġhad Ġflown ĠV isc ount s Ġfor ĠAir ĠRhodes ia Ġsince Ġ1968 Ġ, Ġand Ġhad Ġalso Ġserved Ġin Ġthe ĠRhodes ian ĠAir ĠForce Ġon Ġa Ġvoluntary Ġbasis Ġ. ĠHis Ġfirst Ġofficer Ġ, ĠGar th ĠBe aum ont Ġ, Ġwas Ġ31 Ġyears Ġold Ġ, Ġand Ġhad Ġlived Ġin ĠRhodes ia Ġfor Ġmost Ġof Ġhis Ġlife Ġ, Ġhaving Ġimm igrated Ġas Ġa Ġchild Ġfrom ĠSouth ĠAfrica Ġ. ĠThe Ġtwo Ġair Ġstew ard esses Ġwere ĠDul c ie ĠE ster hu izen Ġ, Ġ21 Ġyears Ġold Ġand Ġfrom ĠBul away o Ġ, Ġand Ġ23 Ġ@ - @ Ġyear Ġ@ - @ Ġold ĠLouise ĠPearson Ġ, Ġfrom ĠSal isbury Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠShoot down Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠA Ġgroup Ġof ĠZIP RA Ġgu err illas Ġ, Ġarmed Ġwith Ġa ĠSt rel a Ġ@ - @ Ġ2 Ġlauncher Ġ, Ġwaited Ġin Ġthe Ġbush Ġbeneath ĠFlight Ġ8 25 Ġ' s Ġflight path Ġ, Ġand Ġfired Ġon Ġthe ĠHun y ani Ġabout Ġfive Ġminutes Ġafter Ġit Ġtook Ġoff Ġ, Ġwhile Ġthe Ġaircraft Ġwas Ġstill Ġin Ġthe Ġclimb Ġphase Ġof Ġits Ġflight Ġ. ĠThe Ġheat Ġ@ - @ Ġseeking Ġmissile Ġhit Ġthe Ġplane Ġ' s Ġstar board Ġwing Ġand Ġexploded Ġ, Ġcausing Ġthe Ġinner Ġengine Ġto Ġalso Ġexplode Ġ. ĠA Ġfuel Ġtank Ġand Ġhydraulic Ġlines Ġrupt ured Ġ, Ġcreating Ġa Ġfire Ġthat Ġthe Ġpassengers Ġand Ġcrew Ġcould Ġnot Ġput Ġout Ġ. ĠThe Ġsecond Ġstar board Ġengine Ġfailed Ġalmost Ġimmediately Ġ, Ġleaving ĠHood Ġwith Ġonly Ġhis Ġtwo Ġport Ġengines Ġ. ĠHe aving Ġwildly Ġ, Ġthe ĠHun y ani Ġbegan Ġto Ġdescend Ġrapidly Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAt Ġ17 Ġ: Ġ10 ĠCaptain ĠHood Ġsent Ġa Ġdistress Ġcall Ġto Ġair Ġtraffic Ġcontrol Ġ, Ġinforming Ġthem Ġthat Ġhe Ġhad Ġlost Ġthe Ġtwo Ġstar board Ġengines Ġand Ġwas Ġgoing Ġto Ġcrash Ġ. Ġ" ĠWe Ġ' re Ġgoing Ġin Ġ, Ġ" Ġhe Ġradio ed Ġ. ĠT elling Ġhis Ġpassengers Ġto Ġbrace Ġfor Ġan Ġemergency Ġlanding Ġ, Ġhe Ġaimed Ġfor Ġan Ġopen Ġfield Ġof Ġcotton Ġin Ġthe ĠWh am ira ĠHills Ġ, Ġin Ġthe Ġbush Ġto Ġthe Ġwest Ġof ĠKar oi Ġ, Ġintending Ġto Ġbelly Ġland Ġthe Ġcraft Ġ. ĠThe Ġlanding Ġwas Ġrelatively Ġstable Ġuntil Ġthe ĠHun y ani Ġhit Ġa Ġpreviously Ġunseen Ġditch Ġ, Ġcart whe eled Ġand Ġexploded Ġ. ĠThe Ġremaining Ġfuel Ġtanks Ġrupt ured Ġand Ġcaught Ġfire Ġ, Ġsetting Ġthe Ġwrecked Ġcabin Ġabl aze Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠMassacre Ġon Ġthe Ġground Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠOf Ġthe Ġ56 Ġpeople Ġon Ġboard Ġ, Ġ38 Ġ, Ġincluding ĠHood Ġand ĠBe aum ont Ġ, Ġdied Ġin Ġthe Ġcrash Ġ. ĠEight een Ġsurvived Ġ, Ġalbeit Ġwith Ġinjuries Ġ, Ġand Ġclimbed Ġout Ġof Ġthe Ġwreckage Ġ. ĠAfter Ġbriefly Ġsettling Ġthe Ġothers Ġ, Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġpassengers Ġ, ĠDr ĠCecil ĠMac L aren Ġ, Ġled Ġfour Ġothers ĠâĢĶ Ġyoung Ġnewly w eds ĠRobert Ġand ĠShannon ĠH arg re aves Ġ, ĠMrs ĠSharon ĠCol es Ġ, Ġand Ġher Ġfour Ġ@ - @ Ġyear Ġ@ - @ Ġold Ġdaughter ĠTr acey ĠâĢĶ Ġoff Ġin Ġthe Ġdirection Ġof Ġa Ġnearby Ġvillage Ġin Ġsearch Ġof Ġwater Ġ. ĠThe Ġother Ġ13 Ġremained Ġclose Ġto Ġthe Ġwreckage Ġ. ĠMeanwhile Ġ, Ġnine Ġgu err illas Ġmade Ġtheir Ġway Ġtowards Ġthe Ġcrash Ġsite Ġ, Ġand Ġreached Ġit Ġat Ġabout Ġ17 Ġ: Ġ45 Ġ. ĠThree Ġof Ġthe Ġ13 Ġsurvivors Ġremaining Ġat Ġthe Ġcrash Ġsite Ġhid Ġon Ġseeing Ġfigures Ġapproaching Ġ: ĠRhodes ian ĠArmy Ġreserv ist ĠAnthony ĠHill Ġ, Ġ39 Ġ, Ġtook Ġcover Ġin Ġthe Ġsurrounding Ġbush Ġ, Ġwhile Ġbusinessman ĠHans ĠHansen Ġand Ġhis Ġwife ĠDiana Ġdid Ġthe Ġsame Ġ. ĠThis Ġleft Ġ10 Ġpassengers Ġin Ġfull Ġview Ġnear Ġthe Ġwreckage Ġ, Ġincluding Ġfour Ġwomen Ġand Ġtwo Ġgirls Ġ( Ġaged Ġ11 Ġand Ġ4 Ġ) Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġgu err illas Ġ, Ġwho Ġwere Ġarmed Ġwith ĠAK Ġ@ - @ Ġ47 Ġrifles Ġ, Ġpresented Ġthemselves Ġto Ġthe Ġ10 Ġpassengers Ġas Ġfriendly Ġ, Ġsaying Ġthey Ġwould Ġsummon Ġhelp Ġand Ġbring Ġwater Ġ. ĠThey Ġspoke Ġin ĠEnglish Ġ, Ġboth Ġto Ġthe Ġsurvivors Ġand Ġamong Ġthemselves Ġ. ĠThey Ġtold Ġthe Ġpassengers Ġto Ġcongreg ate Ġaround Ġa Ġpoint Ġa Ġfew Ġmetres Ġfrom Ġthe Ġwreckage Ġ; Ġwhen Ġthe Ġsurvivors Ġsaid Ġthat Ġsome Ġof Ġthem Ġwere Ġtoo Ġbadly Ġinjured Ġto Ġwalk Ġ, Ġthe Ġinsurgents Ġtold Ġthe Ġable Ġ@ - @ Ġbod ied Ġmen Ġto Ġcarry Ġthe Ġothers Ġ. ĠThe Ġpassengers Ġwere Ġassembled Ġinto Ġan Ġarea Ġof Ġabout Ġ10 Ġsquare Ġmetres Ġ( Ġ110 Ġsq Ġft Ġ) Ġ. ĠStanding Ġroughly Ġ15 Ġmetres Ġ( Ġ49 Ġft Ġ) Ġaway Ġ, Ġthe Ġcad res Ġnow Ġraised Ġtheir Ġweapons Ġ. Ġ" ĠYou Ġhave Ġtaken Ġour Ġland Ġ, Ġ" Ġone Ġof Ġthem Ġsaid Ġ. Ġ" ĠPlease Ġdon Ġ' t Ġshoot Ġus Ġ! Ġ" Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġpassengers Ġcried Ġ, Ġjust Ġbefore Ġthey Ġwere Ġkilled Ġby Ġa Ġsustained Ġburst Ġof Ġautomatic Ġgunfire Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠHaving Ġcollected Ġwater Ġfrom Ġthe Ġnearby Ġvillage Ġ, ĠMac L aren Ġand Ġhis Ġcompanions Ġwere Ġalmost Ġback Ġat Ġthe Ġcrash Ġsite Ġwhen Ġthey Ġheard Ġthe Ġshots Ġ. ĠThinking Ġit Ġwas Ġpersonal Ġammunition Ġin Ġthe Ġluggage Ġexploding Ġin Ġthe Ġheat Ġ, Ġthey Ġcontinued Ġon Ġtheir Ġway Ġ, Ġand Ġcalled Ġout Ġto Ġthe Ġother Ġpassengers Ġ, Ġwho Ġthey Ġthought Ġwere Ġstill Ġalive Ġ. ĠThis Ġalerted Ġthe Ġinsurgents Ġto Ġthe Ġpresence Ġof Ġmore Ġsurvivors Ġ; Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġgu err illas Ġtold ĠMac L aren Ġ' s Ġgroup Ġto Ġ" Ġcome Ġhere Ġ" Ġ. ĠThe Ġinsurgents Ġthen Ġopened Ġfire Ġon Ġtheir Ġgeneral Ġlocation Ġ, Ġprompting ĠMac L aren Ġand Ġthe Ġothers Ġto Ġflee Ġ. ĠHill Ġand Ġthe ĠHans ens Ġalso Ġran Ġ;