Saturday, 22 May 2010
At least 158 people were killed after a passenger plane crashed while attempting to land in southern India.

The Air India Express plane was travelling from Dubai when it overshot the runway near the city of Mangalore and burst into flames.


There were only eight survivors after the Boeing 737-800, with 166 people on board including crew, appeared to have skidded-off the runway in rain at Mangalore airport in Karnataka state.


Air India said all the passengers were Indian nationals.


Air India Express is the budget arm of the loss-making state-run carrier Air India, which has been fending off growing competition from private airlines. First indications are that the crash was an accident, officials say.


Television channels said the plane crashed around 6.30 am local time. TV images showed it struck a wooded area. Flames were seen blazing from the wreckage as rescue workers fought to bring the fire under control.


It is India's first major crash in more than a decade, which has seen a boom in private carriers.
A series of near misses at major airports, including Delhi and Mumbai, have sparked debate about how India's creaking infrastructure was failing to keep pace with an economic boom.


The last major crash in India was in July, 2000, when an Alliance Air Boeing 737-200 crashed into a residential area during a second landing attempt in the eastern city of Patna, killing at least 50 people.