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.
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