Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Tanzanian fisherman, Jackson Majaliwa, who saved passengers on Precision Air gets 1M Tz Shillings and a job at Fire and Rescue Force. (Read More Here).
A Tanzanian Fisherman (really boy) who broke open the crashed Precision Air plane to save 20 lives has been appointed by President Suluhu Samia in the Marines with immediate effect. You just have to love Tanzania.He woke up as a fisherman and slept as a government official.
Nineteen of the 43 people on board died when the plane crashed into Lake Victoria in Tanzania on Sunday (local time), while trying to land at an airport nearby.
In the moments after the crash, rescuers rushed out to the sinking plane, which was owned by Precision Air, Tanzania’s largest private airline.
Among them were fisherman Majaliwa Jackson. Mr Jackson had seen the plane crash into the lake and rushed out with three other fisherman to try to help.
From his hospital bed on Monday, he told the BBC he used a rowing oar to smash the rear door and free those who were stuck at the back of the plane. He then swam underwater to the front of the plane, where he communicated with the pilots, who gestured at the cockpit window.
On rising to the surface for air, Mr Jackson found airport security had arrived. He asked if they had anything he could use to smash the windscreen.
He was given an axe, but before he could use it, he was advised against it – the pilots had indicated there wasn’t yet any water in the sunken cockpit.
Mr Jackson dived below the surface yet again to wave goodbye to the pilots. But one made it clear he wanted to be rescued.
“He pointed out the cockpit emergency door to me,” Mr Jackson told the BBC.
“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.”
President @SuluhuSamia has ordered the Minister of Home Affairs to recruit a fisherman ‘Majaliwa Jackson’ into the Fire and Rescue Force for his heroic act of saving 24 lives of people aboard Precision Air.
It was not an easy task for Jackson Majaliwa as he also fainted and ended up in hospital.There have been calls for fishermen eking a living from the lake to be equipped with knowledge and skills in rescue operations.
The Plane PW494 5H – PWF, belongs to Precision Air, a leading Tanzanian Private airline. It had 43 passengers and crew on board. It was flying from Dar es Sallam to Bukoba.19 people died while 24 were rescued.Preliminary reports indicate it due to bad weather.
As the old adage goes, ‘Do good for others and it will come back to you in unexpected ways’. Just like that Jackson Majaliwa’s life has changed for good.
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.
Both pilots are among the 19 confirmed fatalities after the plane – operated by Precision Air, Tanzania’s largest private airline – crashed near the shore of the lake.
Of the 43 people on board there were 24 survivors, according to Precision Air.
Mourners on Monday paid tribute to the 19 victims at a service held at the local football stadium in Bukoba.
Speaking at the service, Tanzania’s Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said the government would cover the cost of the funerals.
Earlier, he said an extensive investigation would be carried to establish the cause of the crash.
The plane left the commercial capital Dar es Salaam on Sunday and made a scheduled stop at Mwanza before it crashed at around 08.50 local time (05:50 GMT) as it was approaching Bukoba airport.
Discover more from KossyDerrickent
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
