Plane plunges into Lake Victoria in Tanzania

Rescuers searched for survivors after a plane carrying 43 people plunged into Lake Victoria in Tanzania due to bad weather as it approached the northwestern city of Bukoba, police said.

"There was an accident involving a Precision Air plane which... crashed into water about 100 metres from the airport," regional police commander William Mwampaghale told reporters at Bukoba airport.

Regional commissioner Albert Chalamila said 43 people, including 39 passengers, two pilots and two cabin crew, were aboard flight PW 494 from financial capital Dar es Salaam to the lakeside city in Kagera region.

"As we speak, we have managed to rescue 26 people who were taken to our referral hospital," Chalamila said.

"The rescue operation is still ongoing and we are communicating with the pilots," he said, adding that the aircraft was an ATR-42, manufactured by Toulouse-based Franco-Italian firm ATR.

Precision Air, a publicly-listed company which is Tanzania's largest private airline, said it had dispatched rescuers to the scene.

"An investigation team consisting of Precision Air technical staff and TAA (Tanzania Airports Authority) has also departed to join the rescue team on the ground," the airline said in a statement.

"No death has been confirmed at the moment," it said.

Video footage broadcast on local media showed the plane largely submerged as rescuers, including fishermen, waded through water to bring people to safety.