Monday’s burial service for the 19 victims who died when a passenger plane crashed into Lake Victoria in Tanzania will be presided over by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa.
At the end of the runway at Bukoba Airport, the plane crashed on Sunday morning close to the river. According to the owner of Precision Air, there were 24 survivors out of the 43 passengers on board.
Albert Chalamila, the regional commissioner for the area, has announced that the prayers will take place at the Bukoba football stadium after the burial of the victims.
Only the plane’s green and brown tail could be seen above the surface of the water in videos and photos of the crash that were posted on social media. Precision Air is Tanzania’s largest privately-owned passenger airline.
Precision Air was privately owned until 2003, when Kenya Airways acquired a 49 percent stake, paying US$2 million, weeks after its rival South African Airways acquired a 49 percent stake in Air Tanzania for US$20 million. The remaining 51 percent was retained by Michael Shirima, the founder of the airline.
In October 2011, Precision Air floated shares in its stock in an initial public offering on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, after which Shirima’s and Kenya Airways’s stakes declined and the new share subscribers owned 15.86 percent.
The largest lake in Africa, Lake Victoria, borders Bukoba Airport. Emergency personnel continued to rescue additional stranded passengers while rescue boats were launched. During the rescue effort, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan urged restraint.
