A helicopter carrying six people crashed in Zimbabwe's Marondera rural area, east of Harare, on Wednesday, killing all on board, government spokesperson Nick Mangwana said on X.

Mangwana said the helicopter was carrying a high-profile businessman, three passengers and two pilots. He had earlier said it was carrying four passengers but later edited his post on X.

He said the police would confirm the identities of the victims in due course.

Police had earlier said an aircraft carrying six people crashed in the area at around 1700 local time (1500 GMT) and that emergency services were attending the scene.

Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi said that the bodies were badly burned and authorities needed to formally identify the victims.