An Air India Express plane flying from Dubai to Calicut with 191 passengers onboard has crashed into a valley after overshooting the runway at its destination.
The two pilots tried to land in heavy rain after already aborting their first attempt and circling over the airport at its destination for 20 minutes. The plane overshot the runway and skidded into a valley at Calicut airport, in the Indian State of Kerala, at around 7.45pm (2.45pm GMT) today.
Images circulating on social media show an aircraft ruptured into two parts laying in a valley. According to police reports, both pilots and 12 other individuals were killed in the disaster. Another 123 people were injured in the crash. Injured passengers have been rushed to Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode, Kerala.
According to police reports, the pilot Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe was killed by the impact of the crash.
Indian Home Minister Amit Shah said in a tweet that he was ‘distressed to learn about the tragic accident of Air India Express aircraft at Kozhikode.’
It was a repatriation flight carrying Indian citizens back to the country, officials said.