Tanzania pays tearful tribute to airplane crash victims
Rescuers search for survivors after a Precision Air flight that was carrying 43 people plunged into Lake Victoria as it attempted to land in the lakeside town of Bukoba, Tanzania on November 6, 2022.
Grieving Tanzanians paid emotional tribute on Monday to 19 people killed when a passenger plane plunged into Lake Victoria in the country’s deadliest air crash in decades.
The Precision Air flight from the financial capital Dar es Salaam crashed on Sunday morning while trying to land in the north-western city of Bukoba.
Police blamed bad weather for the accident.
Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa was among hundreds of people who gathered at Kaitaba Stadium in Bukoba, with Muslim and Christian clerics leading prayers for the dead as onlookers wiped away tears.
The ceremony to hand over the bodies of the victims to their families was expected to take hours, with local broadcasters running live telecasts from the stadium in Kagera region.
Twenty-four survivors were plucked to safety out of the 43 people aboard flight PW 494, with investigators from Precision Air and the Tanzania Airports Authority arriving in the lakeside city on Sunday.
Precision Air, a publicly listed company and Tanzania’s largest private carrier, said the aircraft was an ATR 42-500, manufactured by Toulouse-based Franco-Italian firm ATR, and had 39 passengers – including an infant – and four crew members on board.
Journalists saw the plane largely submerged on Sunday as rescuers, including fishermen, waded through water to bring people to safety.
One Chinese passenger was also injured in the crash, and has been sent to hospital . Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian expressed deep condolences to the victims and their families.
Emergency workers attempted to lift the aircraft out of the water using ropes, assisted by cranes as residents also sought to help.
During the ceremony, Kagera regional commissioner Albert Chalamila singled out the “great role” played by volunteers, giving 1 million Tanzanian shillings ($430) to a fisherman who was hospitalized after sustaining injuries during the rescue effort.
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Monday also hailed emergency workers and volunteers for acting quickly to save lives.
“I congratulate those who participated in the rescue, including the people of Bukoba,” the president said on Twitter.
“I pray for the deceased to rest in peace and for the injured to recover quickly.”
“We will… improve the government response to such accidents in partnership with the private sector,” Defense Minister Innocent Bashungwa said at the ceremony.
