Feature: Indian plane crash site brings pictures of horror and sadness

NEW DELHI, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Bodies burnt beyond recognition, wild flames and thick smoke rising from the wreckage of the plane, sad relatives weeping on the site looking for possible survivors of their dear ones: this is the horror pictures shown on local TV channels following the crash of the Air India Boeing 730 jet from Dubai to Mangalore, southern India, Saturday morning.

Local analysts said error by pilots, bad weather, high risk feature of the airport runway added to the cause for the crash, said to be the worst on Indian soil in a decade.

A survivor who miraculously jumped from the plane before it burst into flames said there was a "thud" when the plane landed, allegedly 2,000 feet away from the appointed landing spot, and the tyre could have blown up.

Then the plane began jumping, causing all passengers flying up from their seats, and the plane broke into two pieces after hitting a boundary wall of the runway, before crashing into a gorge.

Eight people, including four children, survived the disaster, while 158 others, including 19 children, were declared dead as the plane was turned into a huge stove in fire and smoke, said local authorities.

Several dozen bodies have been pulled out by rescue workers and they are burnt beyond recognition, according to TV footage which were blurred at the spots of the body to show respect to the dead.

Air India recognized that the two pilots, one a Serbian-born Briton, and the other a local, were new and joined the airline in 2009. The passenger plane was also very new, according to India's state-owned national carrier.

However, the airport of Mangalore, 300 kilometer from the IT hub Bangalore, is known to be highly risky as it is located at the top of a hill.

Rains have also visited the area over the past two days and the runway could be wet and slippery. The pilots reportedly tried to abort the landing at the last minute, but they did not report any abnormalcy before the crash, said air traffic control tower of Mangalore.

The Air India authorities and local government have set up helplines for the relatives of the crash victims.
Mangalore is a major medical center of India and is a key crosspoint for traveling to the southern tourism resort of Kerala.







Indian plane overshoots runway, casualties feared

NEW DELHI, May 22 (Xinhua) -- An Air India plane reportedly with more than 100 people on board has overshot a runway while landing on Saturday in southern India, and casualties are feared.

The accident occurred while the aircraft arriving from Dubai was landing in Mangalore, a city in southern India, according to Indian news agency, the Press Trust of India.

INDIAN AIR CRASHES WHILE LANDING, KILLING POSSIBLY 169 ON BOARD -- MEDIA

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