PAN-AFRICAN PARLIAMENT OBSERVE MINUTE OF SILENCE FOR TANZANIA PLANE CRASH VICTIMS

The Pan-African Parliament today observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the Precision Air plane that crash-landed in Lake Victoria on Sunday, killing 19 people.

The sad event was brought to the attention of the Pan-African Parliament by Hon Anatropia Theonest, a member of the Tanzanian delegation to the Pan-African Parliament, in a short statement on the floor of Parliament.

According to a CNN report, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said officials believe all bodies have been recovered from the airplane. “We’re starting to pull out the luggage and personal items from the aircraft. A team of doctors and security agencies have started the process of identifying the dead and notifying the families,” Majaliwa said.

The airline confirmed the death toll and amended the number of survivors down to 24 in an updated statement on Sunday evening. Earlier, the carrier as well as local officials had said that 26 of the 43 people on board had been rescued.

“Precision Air extends its deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the passenger and crew involved in this tragic incident. The company will strive to provide them with information and whatever assistance they will require in their difficult time,” the airline said.

“The names of passengers and crew on board the aircraft will not be released until all next-of-kin have been notified,” it added.

The flight, including 39 passengers and four crew members, had taken off from Tanzania’s commercial capital of Dar es Salaam and was headed to the town of Bukoba before it plunged into Lake Victoria as it was preparing to land.

The accident is believed to have happened on the final approach to the airport whose runway begins right next to Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest freshwater lake.

Story by Gilbert Borketey Boyefio, with files from CNN