Tanzanian passenger plane with 43 aboard crashes into Lake Victoria

A plane carrying 43 people plunged into Lake Victoria in Tanzania early on Sunday due to bad weather shortly before it was due to land in the north-western city of Bukoba, police said. Efforts are under way to rescue those onboard.

“There was an accident involving a Precision Air plane which… crashed into water about 100 metres from the airport,” regional police commander William Mwampaghale told reporters at Bukoba airport.

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Regional commissioner Albert Chalamila said 43 people, including 39 passengers, two pilots and two cabin crew, were aboard the flight from financial capital Dar es Salaam to the lakeside city in Kagera region.

26 rescued so far

“As we speak, we have managed to rescue 26 people who were taken to our referral hospital,” Chalamila said. “The rescue operation is still ongoing and we are communicating with the pilots,” he said, adding that more details would be shared later.

Precision Air, which is Tanzania’s largest private airline, released a brief statement confirming the accident. “The rescue team has been dispatched to the scene and more information will be released in 2 hours’ time,” the airline said.

Video footage

Video footage broadcast on local media showed the plane largely submerged as rescuers waded through water to bring people to safety.

Emergency workers attempted to lift the aircraft out of the water using ropes, assisted by cranes.

A plane has crashed into Lake Victoria in Bukoba in Tanzania’s Kagera region. Rescue efforts are underway. The plane belongs to Precision Air. #Tanzania #Planecrash pic.twitter.com/1GItlItEoM

— Devesh (@Devesh81403955) November 6, 2022

President Samia Suluhu Hassan expressed her condolences to those affected by the accident.

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“Let’s continue to be calm while the rescue operation continues as we pray to God to help us,” she said on Twitter.

The accident comes five years after 11 people died when a plane belonging to safari company Coastal Aviation crashed in northern Tanzania.

(With Agency inputs)