The airline stated in a statement that rescue efforts were underway in Tanzania on Sunday after a jet carrying 39 people, including a baby, fell into Africa’s largest lake.
According to the nation’s prime minister, Kassim Majaliwa, at least 19 individuals were slain.
According to a statement from Precision Air, 26 of the 39 passengers on the flight had been saved and transferred to a hospital. It added that 4 crew members were also on board the flight and said, “We are still waiting to confirm the number of fatalities from the scene of the disaster.”
“We have managed to save several people,” Kagera province police commander William Mwampaghale told journalists.
“When the aircraft was about 100 meters (328 feet) midair, it encountered problems and bad weather. It was raining and the plane plunged into the water,” he said. “Everything is under control.”
The plane was almost entirely submerged in the lake, with rescue boats gathered around its green and yellow tail, according to a video authenticated by NBC News.
Tanzanian Precision Air posted a statement on Facebook claiming that aircraft PW494, which originated from the country’s eastern coast commercial capital of Dar es Salaam, was “engaged in an accident while it was nearing Bukoba airport.” The airline identified the plane as an ATR42-500, a twin-jet turboprop made by the French-Italian manufacturer ATR.
The western edge of Lake Victoria, which shares a border with Uganda and Kenya, is where Bukoba is located.
“The rescue team has been dispatched to the scene,” Precision Air said.
“I have received with sadness the news of the accident involving Precision Air’s plane,” Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu wrote on Twitter. “Let’s be calm at this moment when rescuers are continuing with the rescue mission while praying to God to help us.”
