On early Saturday an Air India plane crashed in the southern city of Mangalore killing at least 160 people. The Boeing 737-800 plane, budget flight IX-812 from Dubai to Mangalore, overshot its landing, crashing into a patch of jungle beyond the runway.
“The accident occurred after the aircraft landed at Mangalore airport and overshot the runway,” Air India said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh authorized Rs200,000 in compensation for the dead and Rs50,000 for the injured.
“At least 160 passengers have died in the crash,” VS Acharya, home minister of the southern state of Karnataka, told reporters. “At least five to six people have been taken to hospital, their condition is not known.”
Indian television interviewed survivors, who said the plane crashed into the trees beyond the airport and broke up near a ravine.
“The plane had broken into two. I jumped out of the plane after it crashed. I saw two other people also come out,” Abdullah, a survivor from the plane, told local channel TV9 from hospital.
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.