Tragic touchdown

The Dubai-Mangalore Air India Express Boeing touched down somewhere around the half-way mark of the runway at Bajpe airport, after which it overshot it, airport officials told The Hindu.

The aircraft touched down on Runway 24, which is 2,450 metres long. Airport officials said the flight landed somewhere half-way down the runway, overshot it and the stretch beyond. The aircraft then plunged over a cliff into a thickly wooded valley, where it burst into flames, the sources said.

Fire engine tips over

Moreover, the area where the aircraft crashed is so inaccessible that a fire engine that was negotiating the narrow road to the area to the crash, site tipped over the side of the road.