Tanzania: Plane crashes into Lake Victoria; 19 dead

Rescuers in boats are seen around the tail fin of a crashed Precision Air passenger aircraft on the shores of Lake Victoria in Bukoba, in western Tanzania. Photo / AP

A plane crashed this morning (NZT) into Lake Victoria as it approached an airport in Tanzania, killing 19 people on board, the country’s prime minister said. A senior policeman said it was raining when the aircraft plunged into the water.

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa raised the death toll up from the three dead announced previously. Local authorities said earlier today that 26 of the 43 people on the Precision Air flight from the coastal city of Dar es Salaam were rescued and taken to a hospital. It was not clear if the new death toll included people who died at the hospital.

The Precision Air plane crashed into Lake Victoria near Bukoba airport. Photo / AP

Photos showed the plane, which was headed to Bukoba Airport, mostly submerged in the lake. Precision Air is a Tanzanian airline company.

“We have managed to save quite a number of people,” Kagera province police commander William Mwampaghale told journalists.

“When the aircraft was about 100 metres midair, it encountered problems and bad weather. It was raining and the plane plunged into the water,” he said.

Mwampaghale said the rescue efforts were continuing.