AI plane overshoots runway, 160 feared dead in Mangalore

As many as 160 persons were feared dead when an Air India Express flight from Dubai with 173 on board crashed and caught fire on Saturday as it overshot the newly built runway while landing at the Mangalore airport.
"According to me 160 people are not alive. A few people have been shifted to hospital," the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr B.S. Yeddyurappa, told reporters in Bengaluru shortly after one of the worst air crashes in India.
According to preliminary information, there were 173 persons on board Flight IX-892, operated by a Boeing 737-800. This included 163 passengers, four infants and six crew members on board. The crash occured around 6.30 am.
The home minister, Mr V.S. Acharya, told reporters five to six people may have survived. "The crash happened while landing and the aircraft immediately caught fire," the state home minister, Mr V.S. Acharya, told PTI.
Police said 40 charred bodies have been recovered.
The plane, which was five-year old, had partially broken up with smoke billowing from the main fuselage. According to preliminary reports, the aircraft exploded after it caught fire.
Official said there was a dense fog over the airport.
The Mangalore airport has been shut down for operations.
According to aviation officials, the aircrfat overshot the runway, hit a fence and went beyond the boundary wall of the airport. Ms Sadananda Gowda, who is the BJP MP from Mangalore, said the accident happened after a wing of the aircraft hit a hillock when the pilot Capt Z. Glusica, an expatriate, attempted to take off after the plane overshot the runway while landing. Rescue operations were in full swing.