Air India Plane crashes in India, 160 people feared dead
An Air India Express plane overshot the runway and burst into flames while landing in heavy rain in southern India, killing all but three of at least 166 people aboard in the country's first fatal commercial air crash in a decade.
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| Archive Image of an earlier incident |
"We have been able to confirm three survivors," said Prabhakar Sharma, additional deputy commissioner of Mangalore district in southern Karnataka state. The plane "is almost completely burnt," he said. There was little chance of more people being found alive, state home minister V.S. Acharya said.
Television channels showed flames and thick smoke billowing from a forested area at the end of the runway. Broadcasters said the plane crashed through a boundary wall and fell into a ravine. Firefighters had to cross a railway line and battle through trees to reach the wreckage, according to the reports.
There were 137 adults, 23 children and six crew aboard the low-cost flight IX-812 when it crashed this morning, Sharma said. The survivors have been taken to a hospital 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the crash site, he said. Acharya put the total number of passengers and crew at 169.
The Boeing Co. 737-800 plane flying from Dubai to Mangalore crashed at 6:30 a.m. local time, Air India spokesman Swaminathan said. The crash may be the worst in India in 14 years, according to the Aviation Safety Network website.
Boeing is sending a team to provide technical assistance to the investigation at the invitation of Indian authorities, the Chicago-based aircraft manufacturer said in a statement.
India will be the fastest-growing air travel market for the next 10 years, Airbus SAS, the world's biggest planemaker, predicts. Over the next 20 years, Indian carriers will need 1,030 new aircraft worth $138 billion, it forecasts. But the current crash might cause a significant number of domestic travels to alter their travel options.
Television channels showed flames and thick smoke billowing from a forested area at the end of the runway. Broadcasters said the plane crashed through a boundary wall and fell into a ravine. Firefighters had to cross a railway line and battle through trees to reach the wreckage, according to the reports.
There were 137 adults, 23 children and six crew aboard the low-cost flight IX-812 when it crashed this morning, Sharma said. The survivors have been taken to a hospital 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the crash site, he said. Acharya put the total number of passengers and crew at 169.
The Boeing Co. 737-800 plane flying from Dubai to Mangalore crashed at 6:30 a.m. local time, Air India spokesman Swaminathan said. The crash may be the worst in India in 14 years, according to the Aviation Safety Network website.
Boeing is sending a team to provide technical assistance to the investigation at the invitation of Indian authorities, the Chicago-based aircraft manufacturer said in a statement.
India will be the fastest-growing air travel market for the next 10 years, Airbus SAS, the world's biggest planemaker, predicts. Over the next 20 years, Indian carriers will need 1,030 new aircraft worth $138 billion, it forecasts. But the current crash might cause a significant number of domestic travels to alter their travel options.
