Rescuers search for survivors after a Precision Air flight that was carrying 43 people plunged into Lake Victoria as it attempted to land in the lakeside town of Bukoba, Tanzania on November 6, 2022. – Three people died when a plane carrying dozens of passengers plunged into Lake Victoria in Tanzania on November 6, 2022, as it approached the northwestern city of Bukoba, the fire and rescue service said. Rescuers have pulled 26 survivors to safety after the Precision Air plane crashed due to bad weather, with 43 people, including 39 passengers, aboard flight PW 494 from the financial capital Dar es Salaam to the lakeside city, according to regional authorities. Photo: SITIDE PROTASE / AFP.
Precision Air plane PLUNGES into Lake Victoria in Tanzania
A domestic passenger plane plunged into Lake Victoria in Tanzania early on Sunday due to bad weather shortly before landing.
Rescuers search for survivors after a Precision Air flight that was carrying 43 people plunged into Lake Victoria as it attempted to land in the lakeside town of Bukoba, Tanzania on November 6, 2022. – Three people died when a plane carrying dozens of passengers plunged into Lake Victoria in Tanzania on November 6, 2022, as it approached the northwestern city of Bukoba, the fire and rescue service said. Rescuers have pulled 26 survivors to safety after the Precision Air plane crashed due to bad weather, with 43 people, including 39 passengers, aboard flight PW 494 from the financial capital Dar es Salaam to the lakeside city, according to regional authorities. Photo: SITIDE PROTASE / AFP.
A domestic passenger plane plunged into Lake Victoria in Tanzania early on Sunday due to bad weather shortly before landing in the northwestern city of Bukoba, police said, adding that rescue efforts were under way.
“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.
No information was immediately available on the number of passengers aboard the plane, but local media reports said around 49 people were on the flight from financial capital Dar es Salaam to the lakeside city.
ALSO READ: WATCH | The OR Tambo fire did damage planes! [VIDEO]
“The situation is under control as security teams are working hard to rescue people,”
Mwampaghale added.
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.
The accident comes five years after 11 people died when a plane belonging to a safari company crashed in northern Tanzania.
© Agence France-Presse
