Rescue workers are currently trying to lift a plane out of Africa's largest lake. During the landing approach to the city of Bukoba in Tanzania, the machine crashed in bad weather. Apparently, the passengers are lucky in their misfortune.
In northwestern Tanzania, a passenger plane with 43 people on board crashed into Lake Victoria shortly before landing due to bad weather. The accident involving the Precision Air plane happened about 100 meters from Bukoba city airport in heavy rain and thick fog, a local police official said.
The 43 people on board the plane were 39 passengers, two pilots and two flight attendants, another official said. 26 people could be taken to a hospital by noon. The official did not provide information on the condition of the rescued. According to initial information, however, there should be no deaths.
The plane was on its way from the economic metropolis of Dar es Salaam to Bukoba on Lake Victoria. "The rescue operation is ongoing and we are in contact with the pilots," he said. According to the official, the aircraft is said to be a machine from the French-Italian company ATR.
Precision Air is the East African country's largest airline. She confirmed the accident in a brief statement. Video footage from local media shows that the plane is largely submerged. The emergency services try to lift the machine out of the water using ropes and cranes.
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan expressed her condolences to those affected by the accident. "Let's keep calm while the rescue work continues and pray to God to help us," she wrote on Twitter. Five years ago, eleven people died in Tanzania when a safari company plane crashed in the north of the country.
Lake Victoria is the third largest inland body of water in the world after the Caspian Sea and Lake Superior in North America. It is located in the three country corners of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The area of the lake roughly corresponds to the area of Bavaria.
Precision Airline specializes in tourist flights within Tanzania. Among other destinations, the airline flies to Mount Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti - popular destinations for international tourists.
