A Tanzanian passenger plane has crashed into Lake Victoria as it attempted to land in the lakeside town of Bukoba.
The Precision Air flight was carrying 43 people, out of which 26 have been rescued and taken to hospital. Rescue workers and local fishermen are at the scene searching for survivors.
The plane is almost completely submerged with only the brown and green tail seen above the water, surrounded by rescue workers and fishing boats.
Emergency workers are using ropes to try and pull the ATR 42-500 plane out of Lake Victoria which is Africa’s largest lake.
“We want to see if the landing gear is stuck so that we can ask for more technical assistance to push it out of the waters,” said top regional official Albert Chalamila.
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One end of the runway at Bukoba airport lies right next to the shore.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan has expressed her condolences to those affected and called for calm as the rescue operation continues.
The plane was flying from Tanzania’s biggest city, Das es Salaam, to Bukoba via Mwanza when it reportedly encountered a storm and heavy rains.
Precision Air is Tanzania’s largest private airline and is partly owned by Kenya Airways. It was founded in 1993 and operates domestic and regional flights.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
