Investigators from the Directorate of Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation on Tuesday recovered the whole wreckage, including the engine of the aircraft that crashed, killing five people on board in the Zambezi Region last week.

Director of Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation, Magnus Abraham upon enquiry on Wednesday told Nampa that they successfully retrieved the wreckage from the crocodile infested Zambezi River waters at Impalila Island on Tuesday.

“It was not an easy job to retrieve the wreckage, we had to use Namibian Police Force divers to recover it as it went deep down in the water,” Abraham indicated.

The truck carrying the wreckage and engine has departed Kasane today and it is expected to arrive in Windhoek on Thursday morning, Abraham added.

For the sake of independent and objective findings, he said the engine of the aircraft will be transported to South Africa to be analysed further, probably by next week.

The engine will be accompanied by a Namibian investigator to South Africa.

“However, a preliminary report of the investigation will be released next week by the Minister of Works and Transport, John Mutorwa,” Abraham said.

According to earlier reports, the Cessna 210 plummeted from the skies around 13h15 last week Tuesday, killing all five people on board.

The aircraft was en route to Rundu but crashed moments after taking off from the Impalila Island airstrip and crashed on the bank of the Zambezi River.

Meanwhile, police spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi confirmed that the bodies of the four German tourists, members of the same family, and the South African pilot have not yet been released to their families.

She said the bodies are still kept at the Katima Mulilo mortuary, pending further direction from the relatives.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency