19 Individual Reportedly Died in Lake Victoria in Tanzania Due to Plane Crash
The prime minister and airline both confirmed that 19 passengers were killed when a passenger plane crashed into Lake Victoria in Tanzania on Sunday while attempting to land at a neighboring airfield.
According to Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC), Precision Air’s Flight PW494 crashed into the lake during a storm and torrential downpour.
Authorities in the area said that rescuers in boats sped to the nearly submerged wreckage to free trapped passengers.
In the lakeside city of Bukoba, close to the crash site, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa told reporters, “All Tanzanians join you in mourning these 19 persons who have lost their lives.”
Investigators are, however, looking into what occurred, he noted.
The largest privately owned airline in Tanzania, Precision Air, claimed the plane left the nation’s commercial hub of Dar es Salaam and “crash-landed” at Bukoba airport around 8:53 a.m. (0553 GMT).
The airline also stated that there were four crew members and 39 passengers total on board.
At first, it announced that 26 of the 43 passengers had been saved, but subsequently it said that 24 survivors had been found.
When the plane neared the airport in low visibility, a witness informed TBC that he noticed it flying erratically and that it attempted to turn for the airport but missed and crashed into a lake.
According to Albert Chalamila, the region’s chief administrator for Tanzania’s Kagera region, the two pilots managed to survive the accident and communicated with rescuers from the cockpit before reporting that their oxygen supply was running low.
The two flight attendants, he said, “survived, but they were dead when rescue crews reached them.
The aircraft, according to Precision Air, is an ATR42-500. ATR, a Franco-Italian manufacturer, did not answer a request for comment right away.
The ATR42, the smallest of two series of short-haul turboprops produced by ATR, a joint venture between Airbus (AIR.PA) and Leonardo, was first unveiled approximately 40 years ago (LDOF.MI).
According to a safety database called aviation-safety.net, the most recent deadly accident occurred in 2017.
The families and friends of the passenger(s) and crew members involved in this unfortunate accident have Precision Air’s sincere condolences, the airline said. The company will make every effort to give them the information and support they need at this trying time.
Samia Suluhu Hassan, president of Tanzania, urged restraint.
She tweeted, “I have learned of the disaster involving Precision Air’s plane with sadness. Let’s maintain our composure as rescuers continue their work while pleading with God to assist us, she encouraged.”
(Reuters/NAN)
