Mangalore, May 22: About 150 people were killed when an Air India Express flying from Dubai overshot the runway after landing at the Mangalore airport near here early Saturday amid a drizzle and caught fire as it crashed into a forested gorge, authorities said.
A grim looking Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa told reporters about three hours after the disaster that the Boeing 737 was carrying more than 160 people and “survivors were unlikely”.
“Except for five or six people who were rescued, we fear the rest of the passengers (and crew) may not have survived.” he told reporters in Bangalore, the state capital, before leaving for the crash site. “It is a grave tragedy.”
The plane was carrying 163 passengers and six crew members. The passengers included four infants.
The airport at Bajpe, about 30 km from Mangalore, is in a hilly area and considered one of the most difficult airports to take off and land. The area had been experiencing heavy rains for the last two days.
Aviation experts said the Mangalore airport required precision landing because there is hardly any overshoot area. There was no immediate official word, however, why the plane met with the accident.
The tragedy took place around 6.30 a.m. The pilot gave no distress signal before the plane went down.
Villagers from the neighbourhood were among the first to rush to the gorge as the plane crashed and broke into several pieces with a deafening roar and sending huge flames leaping into the sky.
Firemen and police personnel from the airport quickly began rescue operations, only to come across ghastly scenes of mangled bodie strew over a large area.
In no time, about 25 ambulances and over 20 fire tenders were involved in the frantic operation. But large crowds gathered, including many rushing all the way from the airport.
Some of the charred bodies still had the seat belts on.
Air India spokesman K. Swaminathan said the IX 812 overshot the runway while landing. He gave no further details.
The rescue operations were hit for an hour as the drizzle turned into heavy rains, with parts of the plane having rolled into ravines near the airport.
“It is a tragic incident,” Karnataka Home Minister V.S. Acharyal said.
Managalore airport manager Peter Abrahim said there were initial difficulties in reaching the accident.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condoled the loss of lives in the air crash at the Mangalore airport Saturday and ordered Rs.200,000 for the families of the dead and Rs.50,000 for the injured.
He also postponed an event scheduled at his official residence Saturday evening to celebrate his government’s one year in office during its second tenure.
List of passengers on crashed Air India Express plane Text
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Following is the list of passengers who travelled on the Air India Express plane that crashed Saturday in Mangalore city.
1. Harshini Poonja
2. Aaron Joel Fernandes
3. Niha Imthiaz
4. Bhaskaran T.V.
5. Komalavally Alinkeel
6. Narayana Kanthav Rao
7. Vani Narayana Rao
8. Vaishnavi Narayana Rao
9. Mohammad Ishaque Rafique Ahmed
10 Hasanabba Abubakkar
11. Hiba Azeena (child)
12. Mushina (child)
13. Haifa Hasha (infant)
14. Joyanrichard Saldanha
15. Ummer Farook Mohammed
16. Shahida Nushrathar
17 Zeshan Abdul Rehman (child)
18. Kannur Zulekha Banu
19. Nazeema Muhammad Ashraf
20.Satyanarayana Ballakuraya
21. Sujatha Rao
22. Fathimamehzan Shafqat
23.Rashaad Shafqatmahmood (infant)
24. Khader Ammangod Mohammed Shafy
25. Suhaib Mohammed Naseer (child)
26. Bibi Sara (child)
27. Nabeeha Mohammed Nasir (child)
28. Mohammad Asraf
29. Maimoona Asraf
30. Ashaz Abdulla (child)
31. Ayesha Afsheen (child)
32.Plaviashakunthala Lobo
33. Venishanikola Lobo
34. Vishalfloid Lobo (child)
35. Abdullah K.M.
36. Rosly Shibu
37. Godwina Thomas (child)
38. Gloria Thomas (child)
39. Bhagali Prabhakar
40. Kammadam Kunhabdulla
41. Shashikanth Punja
42. Manirekha Punja
43. Abdulbarr Damudi (child)
44. Mahesh Shetty
45. Mohamed Naser
46. Anwar Sadiq
47. Hassan Kutty
48. JoelPratap DSouza
49. Arunkumar Shetty
50. Abdul Samad
51. Prasadand Manjrekar
52. Krishnan Koolikunnu
53. Mullachery Balakrishnan
54. Shanthi Olivera
55. Chethana Mukeshkumar
56. Ahmednaushad Abbu
57. Rajan Pulikodan
58. Jayaprakasha Devadiga
59. Jayaram Kotian
60. Chitra Jayaram
61. Rahul Jayaram (child)
62. Prabhavati Karkera
63. Ashitha Bolar
64. Akshay Bolar
65. Suresh Kunder
66. Soman Narayani
67. Pradeep G.K.
68. Kallingalabullah
69. Thalangara Ebrahimkhaleel
70. Naziya Afarin
71. Mohammed Abaanruknuddin (child)
72. MohammedRafi Beliyapura
73. Abdullah Mohammed
74. Ibrahim Saheb
75. Sameena Saheb
76. Issam Ibrahim
77. Rida Ibrahim (child)
78. Perumbalamohammed
79. Shivakumar Nagaraj
80. Meenu Gupta
81. Shetty K.K.
82. Gangadharan Nair
83. Prabathkumar Attavar
84.Sathisha Shetty
85. Irshad Ahmed
86. Neha Parveen
87. Affan Ahmed (infant)
88. Sameerbeerran Moideen
89. Abdunnazir Avinja
90. Riju John
91. Sabrina Nasrinhuq
92. Mahammooda Abdulla Kanyana
93. Althafahmed Moolana
94. Lokeshasadananda Belchada
95. Hameed Pookayam
96. Mayankutty K.P.
97. Vipin Kattoor
98. Kishorekumar Kudpapoojary
99. Chandukutty Nair K.
100. NM Bharatham
101. Abdulazeez Anchikatta
102. Umashan Vijayan
103. Cavin Sequuiera
104. Reshmasanthosh Rai
105. Nalandshaunsantosh Rai (child)
106. Vihasantosh Rai (infant)
107. Vamana Prabhu
108. Ganesh Prabhu
109. Qazi Abdulsalam
110. Qazizulekah Khuddus
111. Jackson Periera
112. Mahammed Ismail
113. Naveen Kumar
114. Sanjaykumar Mahabal
115. Mahendra Kodkany
116. Indumathi Nayak
117. Vijesh Kovval
118. Ramakrishna Nayak
119. Ajesh Mottathil
120. Navid Ibrahim
121. Ignatius DSouza
122. Sukumara Kuzhiyamkottuchal
123. Abdul Basheer KM
124. Mohiddin Farasusman
125. Mahim Mohammedpalli
126. Mohammedashraf KA
127. Mohamed Usman
128. Naveenwalter Fernandes
129. Saritaphilomena Dsouza
130. Ullas Dsilva
131. Mannapadupuashraf Abdul
132. Safdharali Sheik
133. Mahesh Shetty
134. Abdulharish Koppalamhouse
135. Abdul Jebran
136. Parambathkunhi Krishnan
137. Prabhakaran Pachikaran
138. Nekkareibrahim Ismail
139. Melwynkiran Menezes
140. Siddeeque Choorisulaiman
141. Putturismail Abdulla
142. Somashekhar Potyalsrinivasa
143. Lokesh Narayanan
144. Lolitta Dias
145. Lilly Dias
146. Praveena Sundar
147. Hilda Douza
148. Pradeep Deepanivas
149. Denis Saldanha
150. Ashton Saldanha (child)
151. Manthur Hassainar
152. Rama Satish
153. Mohammed Basheer
154. Aboobacker Siddeeq
155. Mohammed Usman
156. Shaileshrao Brahmavara
157. Mohammed Ziad
158. Sameena Abdul Karim
159. Zainab Mohammedziad (child)
160. Mohammed Subairzaid (child)
List of crew members killed in Mangalore
Mumbai, May 22 (IANS) Air India has released the list of crew members killed Saturday in the Dubai-Mangalore Air India Express crash in Mangalore.
They are: Capt. Z. Glusica, Commander, H.S. Ahluwalia, First Officer, Sujata Survasi, crew, Yoganther Rana, crew, Tejal A. Kamulkar, crew, and Mohammad Ali, crew.
–IANS