The death toll from Sunday’s plane crash in Lake Victoria in Tanzania has jumped to 19, according to Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa. The plane departed from Dar es Salaam at around 6 a.m; while attempting to land during stormy weather, it crashed in the northwestern lakeside town of Bukoba at 8.30 a.m, reported CNN.
The two pilots initially survived and managed to speak to local officials from the cockpit, but the prime Minister says they may have since died. Rescuers could wade through the water to bring some of those still inside the plane to safety. The airline confirmed the death toll and amended the number of survivors to 24 in an updated statement on Sunday evening. Earlier, the carrier and local officials had said that 26 of the 43 people on board had been rescued.
Immediately after the crash, the plane was almost completely submerged, with only the brown and green tail fin visible. “An investigation team consisting of Precision Air technical staff and TAA (Tanzania Airports Authority) has also departed to join the rescue team on the ground,” the airline stated.
“We have managed to save quite a number of people,” Kagera province police Commander William Mwampaghale told journalists earlier in the day.
Following news of the crash, Tanzania’s President took to social media to call for calm while rescuers worked at the site of a downed plane. “I have received with sadness the information of the crash of the Precision Air flight at Lake Victoria, in the Kagera region,” President Samia Suluhu Hassan wrote on Twitter Sunday.
“I send my condolences to all those affected by this incident. Let’s continue to be calm as the rescue operation continues, and we pray to God to help us.”