Many Feared Dead As Plane Carrying 43 Passengers Crash Into Lake Victoria In Tanzania

Many people are feared dead on Sunday when a Precision Air flight carrying 43 passengers made a crash landing into Lake Victoria while attempting to reach a nearby airport in Tanzania.

Tanzania Plane Crash

Regional commissioner, Albert Chalamila said 43 people – including 39 passengers, two pilots and two cabin crew – were on board the plane on Sunday when it crashed into Lake Victoria in Tanzania while attempting to land at an airport during bad weather.

“As we speak, we have managed to rescue 26 people who were taken to our referral hospital. The rescue operation is still ongoing and we are communicating with the pilots,” Chalamila said.

State-owned Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation later reported three people had died. The bodies of two men and one woman were retrieved from the aircraft.

According to BBC, the two pilots survived the crash but remain trapped inside the cockpit and have been speaking to local officials.

After the crash, the plane was almost completely submerged with only the brown and green tail fin above the water.

Rescue workers and local fishermen are on the scene trying to rescue those still inside the aircraft which was flying from Tanzania’s biggest city, Das es Salaam, to Bukoba via Mwanza.

Emergency workers have used ropes to pull the ATR-42 aircraft closer to the shore of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake. One end of the runway at Bukoba airport lies right next to the shore.

Tanzania’s President, Samia Suluhu Hassan has expressed her condolences to those affected and called for calm as the rescue operation continues.

“I have received with sadness the information of the crash of the Precision Air flight at Lake Victoria, in the Kagera region,” the president wrote on Twitter Sunday.

“I send my condolences to all those affected by this incident. Let’s continue to be calm as the rescue operation continues and we pray to God to help us.”

KanyiDaily had also reported how a Ukrainian commercial airliner crashed after taking off from Iran’s capital, Tehran, killing all 176 people on board.