At the least 19 individuals have died after a Precision Air passenger airplane crashed into Lake Victoria on Sunday because it tried to land within the northwestern metropolis of Bukoba.
The plane crashed on Sunday morning attributable to unhealthy climate shortly earlier than touchdown within the northwestern metropolis of Bukoba, police mentioned.
Of the 43 individuals on board flight PW 494, 24 survived, based on operator Precision Air – Tanzania’s largest non-public service.
Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa confirmed 19 individuals on board had been killed.
“All Tanzanians are with you in mourning the 19 individuals who misplaced lives throughout this accident,” he advised a crowd after arriving at Bukoba airport, the place the flight had been scheduled to land from monetary capital Dar es Salaam.
Discover to the general public. pic.twitter.com/AWNU4Ae2sC— Precision Air (@PrecisionAirTz) November 6, 2022
The airline mentioned it had dispatched rescuers and investigators to the scene and expressed its “deepest sympathies” over the accident, which occurred at round 08:53 am (0553 GMT) on Sunday.
‘Heroic’ efforts
The corporate, partly owned by Kenya Airways, mentioned the plane was an ATR 42-500, manufactured by Toulouse-based Franco-Italian agency ATR, and had 39 passengers – together with an toddler – and 4 crew members on board.
Video footage broadcast on native media confirmed the airplane largely submerged as rescuers, together with fishermen, waded by means of water to deliver individuals to security.
Unbelievable!! Bystanders are pulling the airplane out of Lake Victoria with rope.No emergency rescue providers in any respect!!Solely in #Tanzania😢😢😢😢 https://t.co/vRn4OI68w2– fatma karume aka Shangazi (@fatma_karume) November 6, 2022
Emergency employees tried to carry the plane out of the water utilizing ropes, assisted by cranes as residents additionally sought to assist.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan expressed her condolences to these affected by the accident, saying: “We pray to god to assist us.”
The US embassy in Dar es Salaam launched a press release, paying tribute to “the heroic efforts of first responders, particularly extraordinary residents who helped rescue victims.”
The catastrophe ranks among the many deadliest airplane crashes in Tanzania’s historical past.
It comes 5 years after 11 individuals died when a airplane belonging to safari firm Coastal Aviation crashed within the north of the nation.
(with newswires)