Tanzania is in mourning, after a plane crash with Precision Air Flight, this Sunday morning, November 6, in the northwest of the country. The aircraft crashed into Lake Victoria. At least 19 people have died, authorities say, while rescue operations have not been completed.
Impressive images show the plane, an ATR 42-500, largely submerged, with only the rear of the green and brown fuselage visible above the lake water. Around, many boats and rescue teams trying to lift the device with cables.
A local official, the regional commissioner Albert Chalamila, had previously indicated that 26 people had been rescued out of the 43 people on board, including 39 passengers, the two pilots and two crew members. But Precision Air Flight, part-owned by Kenya Airways, said in a statement that 24 people survived the crash.
Domestic flight PW494 from Dar es Salaam was to land at Bukoka airport in the northwest of the country. The regional police commander, who was unable to explain the accident, indicated that at the time of the approach there were thunderstorms and heavy rain.
The plane crashed 100 meters from the edge of the lake. A witness reported seeing the aircraft hovering unsteadily as it approached the airport in low visibility conditions.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan expressed her condolences to those affected by the accident: Let’s keep calm and pray that God will help us. »