CNN
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A Tanzanian commercial flight operated by Precision Air crashed in bad weather in Lake Victoria on Sunday, killing 19 people.
The country’s prime minister, Kassim Majaliwa, said officials believed all the bodies had been recovered from the plane.
“We are starting to take luggage and personal items off the plane. A team of doctors and security services have begun the process of identifying the dead and notifying the family,” Majaliwa said.
The airline confirmed the death toll and revised the number of survivors down to 24 in an updated statement Sunday night. Earlier, the airline as well as local officials said 26 of the 43 people on board were rescued.
“Precision Air extends its deepest sympathies to the families and friends of passengers and crew involved in this tragic incident. The airline will strive to provide them with information and any support they will require during their difficult time,” the airline said.
“The names of the passengers and crew on board will not be released until all subsequent relatives are notified,” it added.
The flight, which included 39 passengers and four crew members, took off from Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam and headed for the town of Bukoba before plunging into Lake Victoria. when it was about to land.
Video circulating on social media taken by onlookers on the shores of Lake Victoria shows the plane submerged in water with emergency responders coordinating rescue efforts from nearby boats.
Precision Air CEO Patrick Mwanri looked distressed as he spoke to reporters in Dar es Salaam Sunday.
Mwanri’s voice broke and he had to stop to wipe his tears as he said the plane had departed at around 6 a.m. local time and was expected to arrive in the northwestern lakeside town of Bukoba. at 8:30 a.m.
“But at 8:53 a.m., our Operations Control Center received a report that the plane had not arrived,” he said in a televised statement.
The accident is believed to have occurred on the final approach to the airport whose runway begins right next to Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest freshwater lake.
Local officials blamed bad weather for the crash, saying the area was hit by heavy rainfall and strong winds at the time.
The regional airline has opened a Crisis Management Center and set up information areas in Bukoba and Dar es Salaam to contact the families of passengers.
Following news of the crash, the President of Tanzania took to social media to appeal for calm while rescuers worked at the scene of a downed plane.
“I am saddened to receive news of the crash of Precision Air flight at Lake Victoria, Kagera region,” President Samia Suluhu Hassan wrote on Twitter Sunday.
“My condolences to all those affected by this incident. Let’s stay calm as the rescue operation continues and we ask God to help us.”
Precision Air is a Tanzanian airline based in Dar es Salaam.
