A passenger plane belong to Precision Air the largest private owned airline in Tanzania has crashed into Lake Victoria on Sunday.
Reuters quoting the Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) reported that the crash occurred while the plane was attempting to land in stormy weather at an airport in the lakeside city of Bukoba, Tanzania.
The news outlet reported that 15 people have been rescued so far in the ongoing rescue operation.
It was stated that the number of passengers in the aircraft is still unknown.
Also, authorities have not been able to ascertain whether there are fatalities in the crash or not.
It was reported that the ill-fated Precision Air flight took off from the Tanzanian capital, Dares Salam, and
“fell in Lake Victoria this morning due to storms and heavy rains.”
Meanwhile Precision Air, identified the plane as flight PW 494
The airline said that aircraft was “involved in an accident as it was approaching Bukoba Airport”.
“Video footages and images of the aircraft circulated on social media showed the plane almost fully submerged, with only its green and brown-coloured tail visible above the water line of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake.” Reuters reported
The Tanzanian authorities have deployed emergency workers who were seen around the aircraft in an operation to rescue passengers trapped in the plane
The President of Tanzania Samia Suluhu Hassan has reportedly called for calm even as efforts are ongoing to rescue more passengers.
“I have received with sadness the news of the accident involving Precision Air’s plane.
“Let’s be calm at this moment when rescuers are continuing with the rescue mission while praying to God to help us.” She tweeted