Plane crashes in India killing 159

A plane has crashed on landing near India's southern city of Mangalore, killing 159 people. Eight survivors managed to escape the burning wreckage of the India Air Express plane, which had overshot the runway.

Reuters

Officials said the Boeing 737-800, which was carrying 160 passengers and six crew on a flight from Dubai, touched down before careering off the end of the runway and ploughing into a shallow gorge.

"As far as the information available with us is concerned, eight persons were rescued and shifted to local hospitals in Mangalore for treatment," Anup Shrivasta, Air India personnel director, told a news briefing in Mumbai.

A police official said one of the survivors, a seven-year-old boy, had later died from his injuries.

Television images showed the plane had broken up, with smoke billowing from the main fuselage, as rescue workers sought to douse the fire with foam.

A survivor, KP Manikutty, escaped the burning flames with only minor injuries. "There was no warning to passengers about any trouble and it appeared a smooth landing," Manikutty told the Press Trust of India.

VP Agrawal, chairman of the Airport Authority of India told reporters in New Delhi that there had been no distress call from the cockpit to suggest a technical fault.

"The visibility was six kilometres when the aircraft approached the runway which was more than sufficient," Agrawal said.

In a statement, US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing said it was sending a team of investigators to India to help in the crash inquiry.

It was the first major plane crash in India since 2000, when 61 people were killed after a passenger plane crashed into a residential area near the eastern city of Patna.

India's worst aviation accident occurred in 1996 when two passenger planes collided in mid-air near New Delhi with the loss of all 349 on board both flights.