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Two Kenyan nationals are among the 19 people who died after a commercial flight plunged into Lake Victoria in Tanzania on Sunday.
One of them, Peter Odhiambo was the co-pilot (first officer) of the ill-fated plane belonging to Precision Air company while the other was identified as Eunice Ndirangu, a passenger.
The plane, PW 494 -5H-PWF, was flying from Dar es Salaam through Bukoba to Mwanza with 43 passengers and crew on board when it crashed into the lake as it prepared to land at Bukoba Airport in the early hours of Sunday.
Precision Air, a publicly-listed company which is Tanzania's largest private airline, said the aircraft was an ATR 42-500 manufactured by Toulouse-based Franco-Italian company ATR, and had 39 passengers, including an infant and four crew members on board.
Video footage aired on local media showed the aircraft largely submerged in the lake as rescuers waded through water to bring people to safety.
Emergency workers attempted to lift the plane out of the water using ropes, assisted by cranes as local residents also sought to help in the effort.
Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan expressed her condolences to those affected by the accident. An investigation into the crash is underway.
A witness who was on the ill-fated plane said all was well between Dar es Salaam and and Mwanza until they approached Bukoba where the weather was rough.
“As we approached Bukoba, the pilot alerted us that the weather was not fine and that it was raining heavily so we went past Bukoba towards the border with Uganda before we could turn back,” said Richard Komba.
On return, the crew alerted passengers that in the event the weather was still bad, the captain would go to go back to Mwanza.
“Soon we began our descent on Bukoba Airport, there was so much turbulence and it was still raining heavily and soon without any warning we found ourselves in the water,” he said, adding that he was lucky to be alive.
“We had a cabin crew with us who helped us open the emergence exit and soon we found ourselves outside the aircraft.”