Plane Crash in India
160 feared dead when an Air India aircraft arriving from Dubai overshoots runway in Mangalore
At least 160 people are feared dead after an Air India Express aircraft from Dubai, carrying 173 passengers, overshot the runway while landing at the Mangalore airport on Saturday morning.
At least 6-8 people in critical condition have been rescued. Rescue operation was hampered by the thick smoke that engulfed the plane, airport authorities said.
The aircraft was on fire, he said. About 25 fire tenders and ambulances are on the spot, authorities said.
The incident happened near a valley 10 km from the airport, Karnataka home minister V S Acharya said.
The flight IX-892, operated by a Boeing 737-800, had 163 adult passengers, 4 infants and 6 crew members on board.
Aviation sources said the aircraft overshot the runway, hit the fence and went beyond the boundary wall of the airport.
All the contact with the aircraft was lost after 6.30 am as the left wing of the plane caught fire.
Aviation sources termed it an 'accident' instead of 'incident', they said. In aviation parlance an accident denotes causalities.
AI has opened helpline centre at Delhi Airport and the two numbers are 011-2565-6196 and 011-2560-3101. Mangalore Helpline number is 0824-2220422
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of those killed in Mangalore air crash and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the PM's National Relief Fund.
Meanwhile, civil aviation minister Praful Patel has rushed to the spot. Congress president Sonia Gandhi also expressed grief and sorrow over the tragic air accident in Mangalore. In a message, she wished speedy recovery to those injured.
DGCA Director-General S N A Zaidi said, "we have received only preliminary reports regarding the accident. But we are awaiting for the details including the number of passengers."
Comments
It was a sorry state of affair. While whole nation was in grief, the TV Media was trying to add more inuslt by interviewing a Pilot Mr Sabu,who was airing his views as a member of Pilot Guild about the differences they have with the management. He was more concerned about their personal problems rather than understanding the need of the hour. His views are welcome for a future guidance, may be to be aired a few days later. The treatment meted out to the crew can be brought to the knowledge of every one for him to claim support. It was a shameful act .
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