[b][url="http://www.hindustantimes.com/158-bodies-recovered-from-AI-plane-crash-site--in-Mangalore/Article1-546915.aspx"]All 158 bodies recovered from AI plane crash site in Mangalore[/url][/b]
[url="http://www.hindustantimes.com/Search/HT-Correspondent.aspx"]HT Correspondent [/url], Hindustan TimesMangalore , May 22, 2010First Published: 07:38 IST(22/5/2010)
[url="http://www.hindustantimes.com/Search/HT-Correspondent.aspx"]HT Correspondent [/url], Hindustan TimesMangalore , May 22, 2010First Published: 07:38 IST(22/5/2010)
Quote:Bodies of all the 158 victims of the Air India Express plane crash near Bajpe airport in Mangalore have been recovered from the wreckage site, a top police official said.
"Of the 158 bodies, 72 bodies have been identified," Commissioner of Police Seemanth Kumar Singh said.
With all bodies extricated, authorities also ended search operations in and around the deep ravine, into which the aircraft had plunged after overshooting the runway soon after landing.
The IX 812 Dubai-Mangalore Air India flight had 160 passengers and six crew members on board.
The eight persons who escaped from the jaws of death included five adults and [color="#0000ff"]three infants[/color]. They are undergoing treatment in various hospitals in Mangalore and are stated to be out of danger, police said. All the passengers were Indian nationals, an Air India official in Dubai said.
The pilot was Serbian and said to be very experienced.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel visited the site of the accident and went to see the survivors at the hospital. He told reporters later that he felt morally responsible for one of the worst aviation disasters in the country but declined to confirm reports he had offered to resign.
The flight's black box has been recovered, the United Arab Emirates state news agency WAM said. But Air India official M Nambiar said the search for the flight data recorder was still going on.
The crash appeared to be an accident, officials said. One TV report said the plane hit a radar pole on landing.
"There was no distress indication from the pilot. That means between the pilot and the airport communication there was no indication of any problem," VP Agarwal, director of Airports Authority of India, told local television.
TV images showed it struck a forested area, and flames were blazing from the wreckage as rescue workers fought to bring the fire under control.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was directly monitoring rescue operations in Mangalore, Defence Minister A K Antony said, adding that the central government was in constant touch with the Karnataka government on providing relief to the victims.
"The entire nation is in shock... Delhi (central government) is in shock. The prime minister is directly monitoring the rescue and rehabilitation operation," Antony said.
Flight operations from the Bajpe airport resumed in the afternoon.