Tragedy struck the passengers of Flight TM 470 when their plane fell from the sky just short of reaching their destination. The Mozambique Airlines crash killed all 27 of its passengers and all its crewmembers, bringing the toll to 33. The plane left Maputo on 11:26 am Friday and was scheduled to arrive in Angola but never touched down.
After air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane, Namibia's aircraft investigation unit commissioned a helicopter to search for the missing aircraft. Due to heavy rain and bad weather, the search was discontinued and could not resume until Saturday. Though a full search for the missing plane was underway, the landscape and sheer vastness of the area slowed down investigation.
The Mozambique Airlines crash wreckage was found in Bwabwata National park, close to the borders of Angola and Botswana. Namibian Police Force Deputy Commissioner Bampton said rescue workers found what remained of the plane in a dense bush in the park. No survivors were found, their bodies burned to ashes.
A game ranger for Bwabwata reported that the plane's black box had been located and was being taken to investigators. The Mozambique Airlines crash left bodies scattered all over the area. The aircraft was an Embraer 190 that was delivered to Mozambique in 2012. It was reported that the plane had flown 2905 hours since it was acquired.
Initial reports claim bad weather and poor visibility around the time that the plane went missing. Mozambican officials speculate this might have contributed to the tragic accident. A tally of the passengers revealed 10 Mozambicans, 5 Portuguese, 9 Angolans and one citizen each from France, Chine and Brazil were on board. Six crewmembers were also present in the aircraft bringing the total body count to 33. The cause of the Mozambique Airlines crash is still largely unknown.
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