A Mozambique Airlines (LAM) aircraft, which was due to take flight TM 191 on Thursday night (19), hit a bird in Nacala and was forced to stop its journey.

The crash occurred when flight TM 191, which was en route from Lichinga - in Niassa province - and was due to make a stopover in Nampula with its final destination in Maputo, attempted to depart.

The same flight was not scheduled to go to Nacala airport on its initial route, but this happened, according to LAM, due to a divergence.

"LAM informs passengers and the general public that this Wednesday's TM 191 flight, from Lichinga, with a scheduled stopover in Nampula and a final destination in Maputo, diverged to Nacala, from where, at the moment of departure for Maputo, the aircraft hit birds, which led to its interruption and consequent return to the runway," reads a statement from LAM, quoted by the Portuguese daily AIM.

In the same document, LAM states that there were no injuries to passengers or crew in the incident, because the aircraft landed safely at Nacala airport.

"(...) A team of LAM technicians and specialists is currently being sent to Nacala to assess the condition of the aircraft," the statement said.

The flag carrier explained that the passengers who were in Nacala, but bound for Maputo, would be transported by the flight that would take technicians to that airport and those, whose destination was Nampula, were already being accommodated and would resume their journey today (20).

However, LAM gave no details about the passengers who were at Nampula airport on Thursday night (19), waiting for flight TM 191, which was due to make a stopover to disembark and embark passengers bound for Maputo.

"Due to the unavailability of the aircraft in Nacala, today's TM 157 flight on the Nampula/Maputo route [usually a Boeing 737] has been rescheduled for Friday (20)," he explains.

Even so, the situation has sparked outrage among passengers waiting for flight TM 191 in Nampula, because until the early hours of Friday morning, according to messages of dissatisfaction posted on social media, there had still been no official communication from LAM about the reasons for the flight's delay, nor about the conditions for accommodation and food.

(Photo DR)