Zhang Lin, the Chinese passenger on board a plane that crashed in Tanzania has been thanked and praised by Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa Majaliwa for his courage in rescuing a baby at the critical moment when the plane crashed into the Lake Victoria on Sunday.  Photo: Sina Weibo

A Chinese passenger on board a plane that crashed in Tanzania has been thanked and praised by Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa Majaliwa for his courage in rescuing a baby at the critical moment when the plane crashed into the lake. 

A Tanzanian commercial flight operated by Precision Air crash-landed in bad weather in Lake Victoria on Sunday, killing 19 people, according to media reports. The carrier as well as local officials said that 26 of the 43 people on board have been rescued.

One Chinese passenger was injured in the crash, and has been sent to hospital, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a regular press conference on Monday, while expressing deep condolences to the victims and their families.

The Chinese passenger, Zhang Lin, a director of the engineering department at state-owned CCCC Second Highway Engineering Co. told the full story of the incident in an exclusive interview with the Global Times on Tuesday.

Zhang told the Global Times that he was going to fly from Dar es Salaam to Bukoba in Kagera Province on Sunday. He chose the flight because he couldn't get a ticket from other airlines and didn't want to change his itinerary.

Local officials suggested bad weather may have played a part in the accident, saying the area had seen heavy rainfall and strong winds at the time. The plane was caught in a thunderstorm when it arrived at Bukoba airport, and the plane began to descend after more than 20 minutes of circling. Unfortunately, the plane accidentally crashed into Lake Victoria about 100 meters away from the airport during the landing.

"I was sitting in the second-to-last row of the cabin when water started flooding the front half of the cabin, and many passengers panicked and began to pray," Zhang said, adding that he first put on his life jacket and helped the stewardess open the emergency cabin door for other passengers.

After swimming out of the cabin, Zhang climbed onto the floating wing and helped to guide others to escape in an orderly manner.

Zhang said he saw someone at the door of the cabin holding a baby who was struggling to get out, and he immediately climbed onto the fuselage and took the baby into his arms.

"The situation was very urgent at that time, and I didn't have time to think about it. I rushed over to rescue the baby as soon as I saw them," Zhang said.

After seeing the plane crash, nearby fishermen immediately drove a small fishing boat to the scene of the accident to rescue Zhang and others were successfully rescued. After safely reaching the shore, Zhang handed the baby over to doctors, and he was sent to a local hospital for further treatment.

Zhang told the Global Times that the mother of the rescued infant made a special trip to the hospital on Monday morning to visit him and express her gratitude. "You are the one who saved my baby's life, and things would have been unimaginable without you," the mother said.

After being kept in the hospital for observation and medical tests, Zhang Lin is now in good physical and mental condition except for slight abrasions on his legs. He was discharged from the hospital on Monday afternoon and has now returned to work.

Zhang Lin has been in charge of road and bridge construction projects of Chinese companies in Tanzania since he arrived in the country in October 2019. He said that the Chinese and Tanzanian employees of his company have been getting along very happily, and the episode in this incident also highlights the friendship between the two countries.