Tanzania pays tearful tribute to Precision Air plane crash victims

BUKOBA (Tanzania)— Grieving Tanzanians paid emotional tribute 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 northwestern city of Bukoba.

Bad weather was blamed 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 is expected to take hours, with local broadcasters running live telecasts from the stadium.

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.

Emergency workers attempted to lift the aircraft out of the water using ropes, assisted by cranes as residents also sought to help.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Monday expressed her condolences to victims’ families, hailing emergency workers and volunteers for acting quickly to save lives.

“I congratulate those who participated in the rescue, including the people of Bukoba,” she said on Twitter.

“I pray for the deceased to rest in peace and for the injured to recover quickly.”

Precision Air, which is partly owned by Kenya Airways, was founded in 1993 and operates domestic and regional flights as well as private charters to popular tourist destinations such as Serengeti National Park and the Zanzibar archipelago.

THE government announced on Monday it will cover all funeral costs for the 19 bodies that were recovered at the site of a passenger plane crash on Lake Victoria near Bukoba airport.

Majaliwa who led hundreds of mourners at the funeral service held at Kaitaba Stadium in Bukoba Municipality, Kagera region, instructed all Regional Commissioners in their respective areas to fully oversee the funeral activities.

He said the government has formed a special team to investigate the source of the crash and it will be led by the Ministry of Works and Transport and also include experts from various ministries.

“Along with the expert team that is investigating the incident, the government has appointed a special team to investigate this disaster as a whole,” he said

The Prime Minister assured mourners and people at the Stadium that the government will continue strengthening Disaster management committees at the regional level which are chaired by regional and district commissioners so that they can act quickly when a disaster occurs in their areas.

Equally, he said the government will continue to take steps to ensure that airline transportation is safe and complies with national and international standards.

“Let me remove your fears…we should continue to use air travel because the relevant authorities are there and they are in charge and take appropriate measures to ensure safety for domestic routes,” he said.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK