- Commercial flight from Dar es Salaam to Kagera crash lands in Lake Victoria.
- Rescue workers are trying to pull out the aircraft from the water.
- Tanzania’s President asks people to remain calm as the rescue operation continues. There are 43 passengers and crew members aboard the flight.
Some people on board a commercial flight flown by Precision Air that fell into Lake Victoria in Tanzania on Sunday have been saved. Said the airline and local authorities,
Near the Bukoba airport, boats carrying rescue responders were sent to the crash site at Africa’s largest lake. In a message sent on its Twitter account, the airline first stated that 26 people had been saved so far before clarifying that no fatalities had been officially confirmed.
The flight had taken off from Tanzania’s commercial capital of Dar es Salaam but was “involved in an accident as it was approaching Bukoba airport and crash landed in Lake Victoria,” the carrier said.
According to the airline and Kagera province Commissioner Albert Chalamila, there were a total of 43 passengers and crew members aboard the flight.
A video that has been making the rounds on social media was captured by witnesses on the Lake Victoria shoreline and showed the aero plane immersed in the water with rescue workers coordinating from adjacent boats.
“We’re trying to pull out the aircraft from the water. We’re trying to check if the wheels hit the ground under water or figure out some other way to push it out of the lake. At this time, there is still communication from the cockpit. The pilots are still in contact with us,” Chalamila said.
Speaking at the site earlier Sunday, Kagera provincial police commander William Mwampaghale said “everything is currently under control.”
“Rescue operations are underway, we have so far rescued several people and eventually we will make sure we have rescued everyone and removed the airplane out of the water,” he said. “Those who have been rescued have been taken to our referral hospital.”
While rescuers were on the scene of a downed jet, Tanzania’s President issued a calm request over social media.
“I have received with sadness the information of the crash of the Precision Air flight at Lake Victoria, in the Kagera region,” President Samoa Suluhu 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.”
Precision Air is a Tanzanian airline based out of Dar es Salaam.
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