MANGALORE: Mangalore air crash is on its third anniversary, which was one of Indias worst disasters. Air India Express Flight 812 was a scheduled passenger service from Dubai to Mangalore which was at 6.05 on 22 May 2010, overshot the runway on landing, fell over a cliff and caught fire, spreading wreckage across the surrounding hillside.Of the 160 passengers and six crew members on board, only eight passengers survived.
With its 158 fatalities, the accident was the third deadliest aviation disaster in India, The crash caused the highest number of aviation fatalities in 2010 It was also the second time that an aircraft had overshot a runway at Mangalore.
After touching down, the plane overran runway and crashed down the hill at its far end. The final conversations between Air traffic control(ATC) and the pilot prior to the landing showed no indication of distress.
“The plane broke in two” said one survivor and a dense black smoke invaded the cabin. He jumped out through an open window. Six other passengers followed him. they fled, with the help of the inhabitants of the nearby village.Television footage from shortly after the crash showed the remains of the aircraft on fire and lying on its belly with smoke rising from the wreckage.
Apart from the six crew members, a total of 160 passengers were on board at the time of the crash. Although there were 169 names on the original passenger list, nine did not board the flight. All the bodies were recovered from the wreckage. The airport manager at Mangalore, Peter Abraham confirmed that there were difficulties when trying to reach the plane.
Local villagers were among the first on the scene to help while an estimated 15 fire trucks, 20 ambulances and 100 rescue workers were immediately allocated to rescue operations. moved to hospitals, and that the Karnataka Police force, bomb squad, Karnataka Fire & Emergency Services, Karnataka State Reserve Police and all hospitals were working together to help out.Bodies of all of the deceased were recovered from the crash site on the day of the crash, with relatives of the deceased receiving 87 of the bodies.
