So far, 15 people have been rescued from the water, according to local media
FILE PHOTO: A Prescision Air jet in the skies. © Facebook / Precisionair Tanzania
A passenger plane crashed into Lake Victoria in Tanzania on Sunday while attempting to land in bad weather at an airport in the city of Bukoba in the northwest of the African country.
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has confirmed the accident, urging the public to remain calm in a tweet, while a rescue operation was underway.
So far, 15 passengers have been rescued from the water, state-owned Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) reported.
There has been no information yet about fatalities or the number of people who were on board the plane, which belonged to Tanzania’s largest privately owned carrier, Precision Air.
The jet, which took off from the country’s capital, Dar es Salaam, fell into Lake Victoria in the morning amid “storm and heavy rains,” according to TBC.
Precision Air plane crashes into Lake Victoria while trying to land in Tanzania; no word on casualties pic.twitter.com/EpRrgPvAVB
— BNO News (@BNONews) November 6, 2022
Photos and videos from the scene showed the aircraft almost fully submerged, with only its tail sticking out of the water.
The plane was surrounded by boats as local fishermen helped rescuers to look for survivors.