"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.

No information was immediately available on the number of passengers aboard the plane, but local media reports said around 43 people were on the flight from financial capital Dar es Salaam to the lakeside city.

"The situation is under control as security teams are working hard to rescue people," Mwampaghale added.

Precision Air, which is Tanzania's largest private airline, released a brief statement confirming the accident.

"The rescue team has been dispatched to the scene and more information will be released in 2 hours' time," the airline said.

Preliminary reports says that 26 people have been rescued so far and are undergoing medical check up at different hospitals.