Tanzanian Passenger Plane Crashes into Lake Victoria ... "At Least 19 Dead"

Accident During Landing Attempt at Bukova Airport... 26 of 43 Passengers Rescued

Near Bukoba, a city in northwestern Tanzania, a passenger plane made an emergency landing on Lake Victoria on the 6th (local time), and rescue workers are rescuing passengers. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] A domestic passenger plane in Tanzania attempting to land at an airport crashed into Lake Victoria, and rescue operations are underway.

According to the local state-owned TBC broadcast on the 6th (local time), a passenger plane belonging to Tanzania's low-cost airline Precision Air, which took off from Dar es Salaam in the east, crashed into Lake Victoria while attempting to land at Bukoba Airport in the northwest.

Kassim Majali and the Prime Minister of Tanzania announced to the local media that "at least 19 people died in the passenger plane accident" and "the exact cause of the accident is under investigation." There were 43 people on board the accident plane, of whom 26 were rescued and transferred to nearby hospitals. Currently, rescue authorities are conducting rescue operations using lifeboats and police vessels.

Accident survivor Richard Komba told the BBC about the situation at the time, saying, "Water entered the plane, and the people sitting in the front were submerged in water. I was in the back seat, and the people at the rear of the plane struggled to get out." He added, "When we escaped from the plane, there was no boat, and it took a long time to be rescued by canoe," and "It was scary because everyone tried to get on one boat."

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan wrote on Twitter that day, "I was deeply saddened after receiving the news of the accident," and "I hope for God's help in the rescue operations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.