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Tanzania: Small passenger plane crashes into Lake Victoria

Police commander says flight encountered bad weather and plane plunged into water

Tanzania flight crash Rescuers in boats and standing in the water are seen around the tail fin of a crashed Precision Air passenger aircraft on the shores of Lake Victoria in Bukoba | AP

A small passenger plane crashed on Sunday morning into Lake Victoria on approach to an airport in Tanzania.

It was not immediately clear how many people were on board the plane as it headed for Bukoba Airport. Tanzanian airline company Precision Air said the flight was coming from the coastal city of Dar es Salaam.

News reports showed photos of the plane mostly submerged in the lake.”We have managed to save quite a number of people,” Kagera province police commander William Mwampaghale told journalists.

“When the aircraft was about 100 meters (328 feet) mid-air, it encountered problems and bad weather. It was raining and the plane plunged into the water. Everything is under control,” he said.

Mwampaghale said rescue efforts continued.

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