MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

More than half of the occupants survive plane crash in Tanzania

Bad weather seems to have been the cause of the tragedy

A Tanzanian passenger twin turboprop aircraft ditched into Lake Victoria Sunday during a landing attempt at an airport in the lakeside town of Bukoba amid stormy weather. It was later reported that 19 Precision Air ATR 42-500 aircraft occupants were killed, but many others survived.

Flight PW 494 had departed from Dar es Salaam, the country's capital, it was also reported.

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa was among hundreds of people who gathered at Bukoba's Kaitaba stadium, where Muslim and Christian clerics led prayers for the deceased.

The ceremony to hand over the victims' bodies to their families was to last hours and broadcast live on TV from the local stadium where it was held.

Precision Air, which is partly owned by Kenya Airways, is Tanzania's largest private carrier. Flight 494 was carrying 39 passengers, including an infant, and four crew members.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Monday expressed condolences to the families of the victims and praised emergency workers and volunteers. “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,” she added.

The airline was founded in 1993 to operate domestic and regional flights as well as private charters to popular tourist destinations such as Serengeti National Park and the Zanzibar archipelago.

Video footage of the airplane's green and brown tail protruding from within Africa's largest lake went viral on social media.

Rescue boats were deployed and emergency workers were still rescuing other passengers trapped on the plane, the Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) reported.

Precision Air Air's statement read that flight PW 494 “suffered an accident while approaching Bukoba airport” but did not elaborate.

So far, 26 people have been rescued from the water, according to Albert Chalamila, the governor of the Kagera Region, where the crash happened. It is not clear how many died once they were hospitalized.

The ATR “encountered problems and bad weather” at an altitude of just 100 meters (328 feet), Kagera police commander William Mwampaghale told reporters. “It was raining and the plane plunged into the water.”