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Mangalore: At least 158 people are feared dead after an Air India Express flight with 166 persons on board overshot the runway while landing in Mangalore from Dubai on Saturday .
Karnataka Home Minister VS Acharya said , "On landing, this mishap has happened and nearly about 160 people are involved. A handful might have survived....this is a bigger calamity."
Meanwhile, Air India director Anup Srivastava said that the Air India Boeing overshot the runway after landing.
Srivastava said that eight passengers were rescued from the burning wreckage.
"Mangalore airport is closed for now and we are routing operations from Calicut," Srivastava said.
However, he declined to go into the causes of the accident and said it would be the subject matter of the probe.
Rescue operation on
About 25 fire tenders and ambulances were at the crash site, authorities said. The entire area around Kenjar village has been cordoned off.
The plane was almost completely burnt with only its tail visible.
Fire and police officials were removing the bodies that appeared to have been charred beyond recognition from the wreckage of the smouldering aircraft.
The new runway was constructed as part of the expansion project of the Bajpe airport.
Rescue operation proved to be an arduous task as hundreds of people gathered near the disaster site.
Karnataka CM condoles
Expressing grief over the tragic incident, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yedyurappa said it is a very unfortunate incident. He appealed to the people staying nearby to stay away from the accident site and let the rescue operations go on smoothly.
The chief minister, in a short while, is scheduled to take off for the accident site in a military chopper.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel has left for Mangalore to take stock of the situation. The new integrated terminal of the local international airport was inaugurated by Patel on May 15.
Terming the incident as unfortunate and unexpected, Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily said that a probe will be launched into the incident.
The flight IX-892, operated by a Boeing 737-800, had 163 passengers, 4 infants and 6 crew members on board.
The airport at Bajpe, about 30 km from Mangalore, is in a hilly area and is considered one of the most difficult airports to take off and land. The area has also been experiencing heavy rains for the last two days.
Quoting preliminary reports, aviation sources said the aircraft overshot the runway, hit the fence and went beyond the boundary wall of the airport.
Survivors tale
An eyewitness said the bodies of passengers lay strewn near Kenjar Gudda, a hillock.
TV footage showed one woman survivor being taken in a stretcher to a local hospital.
The six crew members who have been identified were Capt Z Glusica, an expat pilot and commander of the aircraft, Capt SS Ahluwalia, the co-pilot, Yugantar, Mohd Ali, Tejal and Sujata, all cabin crew.
Air India Express flight crashes in Mangalore, 160 feared dead
A sad news indeed. Hope we see more survivors.
New Recruit