India plane crash leaves about 160 dead

A plane has crashed on landing in the southern Indian city of Mangalore, with about 160 people feared dead. Air India Express said there were eight survivors among the 160 passengers and six crew on board its Boeing 737 arriving from Dubai. India plane crash leaves about 160 dead The plane overshot the hilltop runway as it tried to land and burst into flames in a forested valley beyond. Survivors said they thought they heard what sounded like a tyre bursting just before the crash. Speaking to Indian TV from his hospital bed, survivor Umer Farooq said he heard a loud thud as the plane touched down. "Then the plane veered off toward some trees on the side and then the cabin filled with smoke. I got caught in some cables but managed to scramble out," he said. Farooq was being treated for burns to his arms, legs, and face. Most of the passengers on the flight were Indian nationals returning from jobs in the Gulf to visit their families, says the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi. Several children were on board. The airline said the plane overshot the runway as it came into land at about 0600 (0030 GMT) and crashed into a wooded valley. A light pre-monsoon rain was reported to be falling at the time. Mangalore airport is located at the top of a hill with a forested valley at the end of the runway. Analysts say it presents challenges for pilots. TV pictures showed rescue workers and local villagers scrambling on steep hillsides to search the smoking wreckage. A Mangalore police official told the BBC that smoke from the crash site had made it difficult for rescue workers to gain access to the plane. Mangalore police superintendent Subramaneshwar Rao, said: "Chances [of finding many survivors ] are very bleak as most of the plane has been burnt out." "As far as the information available with us is concerned, eight persons were rescued and shifted to local hospitals in Mangalore for treatment," Air India official Anup Shrivasta told reporters. Of the eight survivors, one had already been discharged, two or three were being treated for minor injuries and another three had serious injuries, the airline said. Another Mangalore police official told the BBC that 120 bodies had been recovered. The pilot was said to be a non-Indian national with experience of Mangalore's airport. Air India Express began operations about five years ago as an offshoot of the state-run Air India. India's air safety record has been good in the past decade, despite a rapid increase in the number of private airlines and air travel in the country. The last major crash happened in the city of Patna in July 2000, killing at least 50 people.

India plane crash leaves about 160 dead

The plane overshot the hilltop runway as it tried to land and burst into flames in a forested valley beyond.

Survivors said they thought they heard what sounded like a tyre bursting just before the crash.

Speaking to Indian TV from his hospital bed, survivor Umer Farooq said he heard a loud thud as the plane touched down.

"Then the plane veered off toward some trees on the side and then the cabin filled with smoke. I got caught in some cables but managed to scramble out," he said.

Farooq was being treated for burns to his arms, legs, and face.

Most of the passengers on the flight were Indian nationals returning from jobs in the Gulf to visit their families, says the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi. Several children were on board.

The airline said the plane overshot the runway as it came into land at about 0600 (0030 GMT) and crashed into a wooded valley.

A light pre-monsoon rain was reported to be falling at the time.

Mangalore airport is located at the top of a hill with a forested valley at the end of the runway. Analysts say it presents challenges for pilots.

TV pictures showed rescue workers and local villagers scrambling on steep hillsides to search the smoking wreckage.

A Mangalore police official told the BBC that smoke from the crash site had made it difficult for rescue workers to gain access to the plane.

Mangalore police superintendent Subramaneshwar Rao, said: "Chances [of finding many survivors ] are very bleak as most of the plane has been burnt out."

"As far as the information available with us is concerned, eight persons were rescued and shifted to local hospitals in Mangalore for treatment," Air India official Anup Shrivasta told reporters.

Of the eight survivors, one had already been discharged, two or three were being treated for minor injuries and another three had serious injuries, the airline said.

Another Mangalore police official told the BBC that 120 bodies had been recovered.

The pilot was said to be a non-Indian national with experience of Mangalore's airport.

Air India Express began operations about five years ago as an offshoot of the state-run Air India.

India's air safety record has been good in the past decade, despite a rapid increase in the number of private airlines and air travel in the country.

The last major crash happened in the city of Patna in July 2000, killing at least 50 people.