Inter-Iles Brasilia ditches off Comoros

An Embraer-E120ER Brasilia turboprop ditched off the coast of the Comoros Islands near Mozambique on Tuesday. All 29 on board survived.

According to Reuters, one passenger, a military officer, said he saw fuel leaking out of the aircraft "like an open tap" after takeoff.

The Brazilian-built aircraft was operated by Inter-Iles Air, and was carrying 25 passengers and four crew. It departed Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport just after 1 p.m. local time and impacted the waters of the Indian Ocean less than 1000 feet from the coast and three miles north of the airport.

Local fishermen were on scene and effected rescue of all the aircraft's occupants. Early reports suggest crew members were aware of a problem.

According to the news agency, unconfirmed reports state that the crew radioed that they were experiencing an unspecified problem and requested a return to the airport but lost altitude in a turn and touched down in the water.

According to the local aviation authority, the aircraft had passed an inspection earlier in the month.