We are yet to confirm the number of fatalities from the accident- Precision Air
Precision Air flight No PW 494 operated by ATR-48 aircraft with 39 passengers (38 adults and 1 infant) and 4 crew members flying from Dar es Salaam to Bukoba Sunday morning crash landed in Lake Victoria as it approached Bukoba airport.
Earlier media reports indicate that 26 of the 43 people who were on board the affected plane had been rescued by rescue workers and local fishermen.
Further media reports quoted local leaders in Bukoba that three bodies had been retrieved from flight PW-494 crashed from the sky and dropped into Lake Victoria due to bad weather.
However, late afternoon, Precision Air issued a statement saying rescue operations are still ongoing but is yet to confirm the number of fatalities from the scene of the accident.
Kagera province police commander William Mwampaghale told journalists that they had managed to save quite a number of people.
“When the aircraft was about 100 metres [328 feet] midair, it encountered problems and bad weather. It was raining and the plane plunged into the water. Everything is under control,” he said.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan has expressed her condolences to those affected and called for calm as the rescue operation continues.
