Flight PW494, operated by Precision Air, crashed into the water during thunderstorms and heavy rainfall, Tanzania’s state-run Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) said. Rescuers in boats rushed to the wreckage, which was almost completely submerged, to pull out the trapped passengers, local authorities said. “All Tanzanians with you in mourning these 19 people … who lost their lives,” Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa told reporters in the lakeside town of Bukoba, near the crash site. Investigators are looking into what happened, he added. The plane left the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam and “landed” at 8:53 am. (0553 GMT) as it approached Bukoba Airport, Precision Air – Tanzania’s largest private airline – said in a statement. The plane was carrying 39 passengers, including an infant, as well as four crew members, the airline added. It initially reported that 26 of the 43 on board had been rescued, but later reported that 24 survivors were reported by emergency services at the scene. An eyewitness told TBC that he saw the plane flying erratically as it approached the airport in poor visibility, saying it took a turn from the airport but missed and went into the lake. Videos and photos on social media showed the plane almost completely submerged, with only its green and brown tail visible above the waterline of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake. Footage from the television station and onlookers showed many residents standing along the shoreline and others wading into shallow water to try to pull the aircraft closer to shore with ropes. The two pilots survived the crash and were in contact with rescuers from the cockpit before reporting that the oxygen supply was running low, Albert Chalamila, chief administrator of Tanzania’s Kagera district, told Reuters. They were dead when rescue crews reached them, but the two flight attendants survived, he said. Precision Air identified the aircraft as an ATR42-500. Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR did not immediately respond to a request for comment. First introduced nearly 40 years ago, the ATR42 is the smaller of two lines of short-haul turboprops made by ATR, a joint venture of Airbus ( AIR.PA ) and Leonardo ( LDOF.MI ). The last fatal accident was in 2017, according to aviation-safety.net, a safety database. “Precision Air extends its deepest condolences to the families and friends of the passengers and crew involved in this tragic accident,” the airline said. “The company will endeavor to provide them with information and any assistance they may need at this difficult time.” Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan called for calm. “I was saddened to hear of the accident on the Precision Air plane,” he tweeted. “Let us be calm at this time as the rescuers continue the rescue mission while praying to God to help us.” Additional reporting by Duncan Miriri in Nairobi and Tim Hepher in Paris Writing by Elias Biryabarema Editing by Alexandra Zavis, William Maclean, Helen Popper, Andrew Heavens and Barbara Lewis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
