Plane crashes into lake in Tanzania

So far, 26 people have been rescued from the water, according to the governor of Kagera Region

A passenger plane crashed into Lake Victoria in Tanzania on Sunday while attempting to land in bad weather at an airport in the city of Bukoba in the northwest of the African country.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has confirmed the accident, urging the public to remain calm in a tweet, while a rescue operation was underway.

So far, 26 people have been rescued from the water, according to Albert Chalamila, the governor of Kagera Region, where the crash happened.

The injured have been rushed to hospital, Chalamila said, adding that there were 39 passengers and four crew members on board the plane, which belonged to Tanzania’s largest privately owned carrier, Precision Air. There has been no information yet about fatalities.

The jet, which took off from the country’s capital, Dar es Salaam, crashed into Lake Victoria in the morning amid “storm and heavy rains,” according to Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC).

Precision Air plane crashes into Lake Victoria while trying to land in Tanzania; no word on casualties pic.twitter.com/EpRrgPvAVB

— BNO News (@BNONews) November 6, 2022

Photos and videos from the scene showed the aircraft almost fully submerged, with only its tail sticking out of the water.

The plane was surrounded by boats as local fishermen helped rescuers to look for survivors.