More could have been saved in Bukoba Tanzania plane crash – eyewitness accounts

According to initial reports, Flight PW494 went down in bad weather, a stone’s throw from the shore, and in the vicinity of Bukoba Airport, which would have been its final destination after the plane flew in from Dar es Salaam via Mwanza. 

The nation is awaiting results of an exhaustive investigation into the crash promised by the relevant authorities.

However, it is already known that it was one of the worst aviation accidents in Tanzania’s history, and, needless to say, the crash was a big international story carried by virtually all the major international news outlets throughout Sunday and beyond.

Even the Pope, Pope Francis offered condolences after plane crash in Tanzania.  According to the Vatican news the Catholic news media reported 
in the wake of the plane crash on Sunday in Tanzania, Pope Francis is praying for victims and survivors, and has assured all those affected by the tragedy of his spiritual closeness.

A telegram, addressed to the Apostolic Nunciature in Tanzania and signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, says that the Holy Father is praying “in particular for the eternal repose of the deceased, the healing of the injured, and strength for those involved in the rescue and recovery efforts.”

Full text of the telegram of the Holy Father, signed by the Cardinal Secretary of State, for the victims of the plane crash on 6 November at Bukoba, Tanzania:

“Having learned with sadness of the plane crash in Bukoba, His Holiness Pope Francis sends condolences and offers the assurance of his spiritual closeness to all those affected by this tragedy, especially the families of the victims. He prays in particular for the eternal repose of the deceased, the healing of the injured and strength for those involved in the rescue and recovery efforts. Upon all, His Holiness invokes the consolation and peace of Almighty God.”

We also want to take this opportunity to offer our heartfelt condolences to the families of those who died in the accident, and wish the survivors a speedy recovery from the injuries and mental anguish they suffered as a result of the incident.

That said, the accident once again exposed the extent to which disaster preparedness and response are generally lacking in Tanzania.

Under the glare of the world’s media, this well documented frailty was there for all to see as if any proof were needed.

The plane did not crash in the middle of Lake Victoria – far from it.

It went down in broad daylight in shallow waters near the shore in one of Tanzania’s biggest and most vibrant municipalities, but it still took agonisingly long for the first responders from official organs to arrive at the scene.

Eyewitness Accounts

• According to a survivor, the captain, who was also killed in the crash, failed in his first attempt to land at Bukoba Airport due to weather, but passengers were informed that a second attempt would be made, only for the plane to plunge into Lake Victoria

Details started coming in late yesterday regarding what transpired before a Precision Air plane crashed into Lake Victoria earlier in the day.

Both Precision Air and the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) put the number of people who were on board at 43.

However, there were unconfirmed reports that two of those who were rescued were themselves rescuers.

It was confirmed that one of those who died was Captain Buruhani Rubaga, who was piloting the aircraft.

Narrating what happened before the accident, a survivor, Mr Richard Komba, said the flight from Dar es Salaam was largely uneventful, but the weather changed dramatically as they were flying from Mwanza to Bukoba.

As the aircraft approached Bukoba Airport, it was discovered that it was impossible to land, and the captain informed passengers that it was raining heavily and visibility was poor.

“He told us that if the poor weather persisted, he would be forced return to Mwanza Airport. It was however announced that we would still be able to land despite the bad weather and turbulence,” he added.

But the plane suddenly dived into Lake Victoria, and water quickly flooded the front section of the aircraft.

Photo: Surviving Passenger Mr Komba 

“Fortunately, I was at the back. I began struggling together with several other passengers. With us was a crew member, who was also struggling to open one of the doors” said Mr Komba.

“I’m not sure who managed to open the door, but it was opened, and we were able to get out. Help didn’t arrive immediately, and some time passed before we were rescued by fishermen in a canoe,” he said.

Another survivor, Ms Theodora Mpesha, 46, said she barely managed to unbuckle her seat belt, and ran to the nearest the door before exiting and boarding a canoe that took her and several other survivors to the shore.

Mr Salvatory Temba said after arriving in the Lake Zone, the captain informed passengers that the weather was not good, and hinted that the situation could worsen.

“Despite being cautioned, we remained optimistic that the situation would return to normalcy. When the accident occurred, water quickly flooded the plane, and passengers began struggling to save their lives…there was pandemonium,” he said.

Mr Majaliwa Jackson, 20, a resident of Nyamkazi in Bukoba Municipality, who was injured while rescuing passengers, said he was selling sardines on the shore when the accident happened.

“I saw the plane coming and going in the direction of Musira Islet. As it was coming from the direction of Customs, it crashed into the lake, a few metres from where I was with a number of fellow traders,” he said.

Mr Jackson said they saw people waving frantically from inside the plane.

“One of the doors was opened, and that enabled some passengers to get out and onto canoes. Other doors were locked, and it proved impossible to open them, Efforts to break them down proved futile.

“I picked up a belt from the Lake. As I struggled to pull it, it snapped and hit me in the eye. I lost consciousness, and when I came around I found myself at the regional referral hospital,” he added.

Precision Air Services Plc managing director Patrick Mwanri said the company’s centre of operations control was informed after 8.53am that the flight had not arrived in Bukoba.

“We started communicating with the authorities for in-depth information. Then it was confirmed that the plane had crashed into Lake Victoria,” he said.

At that time, reports showed that 26 people had been rescued and taken to a public hospital.

He said two information centres had been opened at ELCT Hotel in Bukoba and Blue Saphire Hotel in Vingunguti, Dar es Salaam.

“The centres will be responsible for assisting family members and relatives of the accident victims. Also, we are collaborating with responsible authorities, including the Tanzania Aviation Authority (TAA), the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) and the disaster department at the PMO and Regional Commissioner (RC) over the matter,” he said.

Following the accident, President Samia Suluhu Hassan tweeted through her verified account @SuluhuSamia, “I have received with profound sadness reports of an accident involving a Precision Air plane, which crashed into Lake Victoria in Kagera Region. I convey my message of sympathy for all victims. We should be patient as the rescue operation continues.”

The National Assembly Speaker, Dr Tulia Ackson, also tweeted: “I sympathise with my fellow Tanzanians following the Lake Victoria accident in Kagera Region involving a Precision Air plane. Thanks to all of you who have participated in the rescue exercise..”

The US Embassy Tanzania @usembassytz tweeted, “The thoughts of the whole U.S. Embassy community go out to those affected by the plane crash today in Bukoba. We pray the rescue operation will be successful, and pay tribute to the heroic efforts of first responders, especially ordinary citizens who helped rescue victims.”

(Photo) Majaliwa Jackson was one of many local fishermen who tried to save those on board the plane

A fisherman who was one of the first responders at the site of Sunday’s plane crash which killed 19 people in Tanzania’s Lake Victoria, has described how he tried to save the pilots stuck in the cockpit and how he nearly lost his life trying to rescue them.

Majaliwa Jackson has been officially declared a hero, awarded 1 million Tanzanian shillings ($430; £370), and offered a job in the fire and rescue brigade for his efforts.

Speaking to the BBC from his hospital bed in the lakeside town of Bukoba before the government announcement, Mr Jackson said he panicked as he saw the passenger plane approach from the wrong direction, before plunging into the lake.

He rushed to the scene with three fellow fishermen and helped to open the rear door by smashing it with a rowing oar which helped passengers seated towards the rear of the plane to be rescued.

Mr Jackson said he then moved to the front and dived into the water. He and one of the pilots then communicated with each other by making signs through the cockpit window.

“He directed me to break the window screen. I emerged from the water and asked airport security, who had arrived, if they have any tools that we can use to smash the screen.

“They gave me an axe, but I was stopped by a man with a public announcement speaker from going down and smashing the screen. He said they were already in communication with the pilots and there was no water leakage in the cockpit,” Mr Jackson said.

He added that after being stopped he “dived back and waved goodbye to the pilot”.

But the pilot then indicated that he still wanted to be rescued.

“He pointed out the cockpit emergency door to me. I swam back up and took a rope and tied it to the door and we tried to pull it with other boats, but the rope broke and hit me in the face and knocked me unconscious. The next thing I know I was here at the hospital,” Mr Jackson said.

Going through the motions

Although Tanzanian skies are among the safest in the world, there have been some sporadic accidents during the past few years.

On December 9, 2018, a Precision Air ATR-72 was hit by a flock of birds before landing at the Mwanza Airport.

The plane number PW 722, carrying four crew members and 68 passengers on board, flying from Nairobi via Kilimanjaro to Mwanza. The incident only caused some damages to the facility but it did not result in any casualty to human life.

 East African News Outlet Citizen in an Editorial Opinion article has added to the calls for a thorough investigation stating that “even so, the most that a good number of “rescuers” who were finally at the scene of the crash did was go through the motions of searching for survivors.

They were, in effect, spectators who followed what was going on from the safety of dry land.

It was local fishermen, with their bare hands and old-fashioned canoes, who rescued most of the 24 people who survived the crash.

Some traders operating on the shore and members of the public also played a key role in the search and rescue operation.

They put their own lives on the line to ensure that as many survivors as possible were pulled from the stricken plane, and taken to safety. Some were so engrossed in the exercise that they themselves had to be rescued.

They were the true heroes of the rescue operation, and the nation will forever be indebted to them.

The painful reality is that the nation needlessly lost 19 souls as a result of shamelessly slow and inadequate response by the relevant organs.

We are sure many more lives could have been saved had adequate numbers of competent rescuers armed with the right equipment arrived early at the scene.

As the relevant authorities investigate the accident, a separate investigation should be carried out into the response to establish exactly where the blame should lie because the fact is that somebody was sleeping on the job.”