India plane with 166 on board crashes; 8 survive - Yahoo! News

India plane with 166 on board crashes; 8 survive - Yahoo! News

India plane with 166 on board crashes; 8 survive

Reuters – Onlookers and firefighters stand at the site of a crashed Air India Express passenger plane in Mangalore …
Slideshow:Air India plane crashes
By AIJAZ RAHI, Associated Press Writer Aijaz Rahi, Associated Press Writer – 4 mins ago
MANGALORE, India – An Air India Express plane trying to land Saturday at a tricky hilltop airport in southern India overshot the runway, crashed over a cliff and burst into flames with 166 people on board, officials said. Only eight survived.
Dense black smoke billowed from the wreckage of the flaming Boeing 737-800 aircraft in a hilly area with thick grass and trees just outside Mangalore's Bajpe airport.
Firefighters sprayed water and foam on the plane as others struggled to find survivors. An Associated Press photo showed two rescuers running up a hill carrying a young girl covered in foam to waiting medics. The child's fate was not immediately known.
The plane, traveling from Dubai, was carrying 160 passengers — all Indian — and six crew members, Air India official Anup Srivastava said. Four infants and 19 other children were among the passengers. The British pilot and Indian co-pilot were among the dead.