DAR ES SALAAM, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has sent a condolence message to the Morogoro regional commissioner following a plane crash in the Nyerere National Park that killed three people Thursday morning, the presidency said.
A statement by the Directorate of Presidential Communications released late Thursday said the plane crashed at 11:30 a.m., local time, at Matambwe airstrip shortly after taking off.
Another statement by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism said the plane owned by the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) crashed shortly before it started its routine patrol in the national park. The killed persons included a retired pilot with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, who was now working for FZS, another employee of FZS and a conservation official, said the statement.
The statement said the fourth passenger on the Cessna 192 5H-FZS plane, a game ranger with the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), was in critical condition. ■