At least 19 people were killed when a passenger plane crashed into a lake in the East African country of Tanzania. The plane with 43 people on board crashed into Lake Victoria while landing in the northwestern city of Bukoba on Saturday local time.
A fisherman who was at the scene that day tried to save the pilots trapped in the cockpit. He lost his life trying to rescue the pilots. Majaliwa Jackson, a fisherman who was at the scene as an eyewitness, described the horrifying incident that day.
According to the report of BBC Online, Majaliwa Jackson was officially declared a hero by the government after the incident. Apart from this, he was announced to be given a reward of one million Tanzanian shillings (US$ 430) and a job in the country's fire and rescue brigade.
Before hearing the official announcement, Majaliwa Jackson, who is being treated at a hospital in Bukoba, said he was frightened when he saw the plane coming from the wrong direction moments before it crashed into Lake Victoria. After the plane crashed into the lake, the three other fishermen rushed away. He went there and broke the back door of the aircraft and helped rescue the passengers sitting at the back.
Majaliwa Jackson said he then ran to the front of the plane and dived into the lake. At that time, he dived into the water and communicated with one of the trapped pilots by pointing through the cockpit window.
"The pilot told me to break the window," Majaliwa said. I got out of the water and asked the security personnel from the airport for tools to break windows. They gave me an axe. I dive again with that ax and try to break the window. But two persons including a speaker of the plane went there and stopped me from breaking the window. They said that they have been in contact with the pilots. There were no leaks in the cockpit. Water did not enter inside. Then I dived again and said goodbye to the pilot and went up.'
The eyewitness told the fisherman that even while saying goodbye to the pilot, the pilot signaled to rescue him. Majaliwa said, 'The pilot showed me the emergency door in the cockpit. I swam up and tied a rope to the door and tried to pull it open with another boat. But when the rope broke, my face was hit and I became unconscious. When I regained consciousness, I found myself in the hospital.'
A flight belonging to Tanzania's largest private airline, Precision Air, has crashed into Lake Victoria, killing 19 people, including all pilots in the cockpit. Precision Air said 19 of the 43 passengers on board survived.
Everyone paid tribute to the 19 people killed in a mourning meeting organized at a local football stadium in Bukoba on Monday. There, the country's Prime Minister Kasim Mazaliwa announced that the government will bear all the expenses for the funeral of the deceased. Earlier, he said to conduct a proper investigation of the incident.
The plane arrived in Bukoba from Tanzania's largest city, Dar es Salaam, via Manja area. At that time it was destroyed by storm and heavy rain. The airport has been closed until further notice.
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