AU chairperson joins Tanzanians and EAC region in paying tribute to plane crash victims

ADDIS ABABA - Moussa Faki Mahamat, African Union Commission chair, has joined Tanzanian people in paying tribute to 19 people killed when a passenger plane plunged into Lake Victoria in the country's deadliest air crash in decades.

“Our hearts and prayers go to the families of passengers on-board a plane that crashed into Lake Victoria, with our full solidarity to the Government and people of Tanzania,” Mahamat sent a comforting message to Tanzania.

The Precision Air flight from the capital Dar es Salaam crashed on Sunday morning while trying to land in the northwestern city of Bukoba.

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 rescued 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.

The airline is 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.

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, I pray for the deceased to rest in peace and for the injured to recover quickly," she said on Twitter.

Founded in 1993 as domestic and regional chartered flight operators for tourist destinations such as Serengeti National Park and the Zanzibar archipelago. Kenya Airways is one of the shareholders.

Media reports say that a Precision Air plane crashed into water about 100 meters from the airport.

The 43 people include 39 passengers, two pilots, and two cabin crew who were aboard flight PW 494 from the financial capital, According to the Regional Commissioner, Albert Chalamila, 26 have been rescued and are currently at Kagera Hospital. The Citizen media reported.

GAROWE ONLINE