19 dead after commercial aircraft crashes into Lake Victoria in Tanzania, killing at least 14
A chart of the waters around Lake Victoria from which two Boeing 737s crashed into it. AP
One of two Boeing 737-800 planes that crashed into Lake Victoria in Tanzania on Sunday is pictured in this image distributed by the Tanzanian government on Tuesday. The image shows the Boeing 737 which crashed Sunday in Nyamisindi, one of Africa’s highest lakes near the city of Arusha.
The other plane, a Boeing 737-800, crashed into the lake with its tail section sticking about 30 metres into the water in a part of the lake called Lake Arapa, with all of its four engines visible just before the crash, government officials have said.
The crash, the second major one to strike the region in four months, came less than 24 hours after the first crash, in which two planes crashed into the lake near the town of Masasi, killing all 224 on board and five people on the ground. There is no information on what caused the two crashes.
The two crashes are the second and third deadly crashes to hit Lake Victoria in the past four months.
Tanzania and Kenya’s military and the US were investigating the Sunday crash. The US, Kenya and Tanzania’s joint disaster relief committee (JDSCC) are assisting with the search and other rescue operations in the aftermath of the crash, which is believed to have been caused by human error, the US embassy in Tanzania said in a statement.
The area where the crashed planes crashed is in the north of Kenya, near a border with Tanzania but many people in neighbouring Tanzania are also affected by this.
One pilot – who is currently in Tanzania – told the Associated Press that the pilots made a mistake in the landing phase of the flight.
“All the pilots from both planes acted irresponsibly and did not follow the aviation procedure by not releasing the brakes or turning off the engine before touching down in front of the lake, which resulted in the crash.
“It is impossible to know why the plane crashed but most likely it was a human error as there is no pilot error report in the official investigation report and I do not believe that there is any negligence”, he said.
The U.S. Embassy in Tanzania said its embassy and local partners in the area are assisting with the search and other
