Seven people survived today after the Air India Express aircraft with 166 people on board, from Dubai, crashed and burned after leaving the runway at the airport in the city of Mangalore in Southern India.
“As fast as information is available, we communicate to the media, eight people initially survived the disaster and were sent to local hospitals for treatment Mangalore,” said the director of airline personnel, Anup Shrivastava from Bombay .
However, one survivor died on the way to the hospital, the official said, adding that the pilot of Serbian origin, British citizen, Captain Zlatko Glusica, 55 years old, had ten thousand hours of flight.
Interior Minister of Karnataka, V. S. Acharya said that the condition of the survivors is critical and confirmed the death of 159 people in the crash of the ship from the UAE capital, which employs many Indian citizens.
The plane, a Boeing 737-800, was bringing 166 passengers aboard, including four children and six crew members, said Shrivastava.
Local authorities have reported that in the area of the crash have been recovered at least 70 bodies and the airline is working on identifying the victims, while operations at the airport in Mangalore has been closed, reported The Times of India.
An airport source said the tragedy happened when the wing of the plane hit a hill and the pilot tried to lift the ship again, after leaving the runway.
The incident on Saturday is the biggest air disaster in India for over a decade, then in July 2000, more than 50 people were killed when an Alliance Air Boeing 737-200 crashed in a residential area while performing a second attempt to land in the city of Patna.
Mangalore Airport is located in an elevated position and is considered one of the most complicated of India for aircraft takeoffs and landings.
The weather was overcast and light drizzle was falling when the plane landed on the runway, said officials of the Aeroportuaria at Mangalore base, which is the main port of Karnataka state in southwestern India.
During his tour off the track, which was inaugurated ten days ago, the plane broke a wall and went crashing to a nearby field where he broke out, the aircraft was completely burnt.
A local television channel showed footage of the device was completely destroyed and burned, only the tail remained intact.
The mishap occurred at dawn on Saturday and dozens of ambulances and fire trucks arrived, but rescue efforts faced severe difficulties because of the plane was still burning.
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