Africa
19 Killed After Commercial Plane Crashes Into Tanzania’s Lake Victoria (VIDEO)
19 people have been killed after a commercial plane crashed into Tanzania’s Lake Victoria.
Eko Hot Blog reports that at least 19 people were killed on Sunday after a commercial aircraft crash landed in Lake Victoria in Tanzania.
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According to Precision Air, the operator of the aircraft, 26 of the 43 people on board had been rescued.
The country’s Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa, said rescue teams, however, pulled 19 bodies from the airplane.
He noted that it is currently unclear whether two of the deceased were local residents assisting with the rescue operations or airline staff excluded from the flight manifest.
“We’re starting to pull out the luggage and personal items from the aircraft. A team of doctors and security agencies have started the process of identifying the dead and notifying the families,” Majaliwa said.
“We will investigate where did the other two come from.”
The crashed aircraft in the lake
The flight, including 39 passengers and four crew members, had taken off from Tanzania’s commercial capital of Dar es Salaam and was headed to the city of Bukoba before it plunged into Lake Victoria as it was approaching the airport.
Video circulating on social media taken by onlookers on the shores of Lake Victoria showed the aircraft submerged in the water with emergency responders coordinating rescue efforts from nearby boats.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CkoFcY4Dbl4/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Kagera provincial police commander William Mwampaghale, who is at the scene, 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.”
Meanwhile, Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has called for calm while rescuers worked at the site of a downed plane.
“I have received with sadness the information of the crash of the Precision Air flight at Lake Victoria, in the Kagera region,” Hassan wrote on Twitter Sunday.
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“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.”
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