Eighteen dead as Air India Express flight carrying 190 passengers crashes at Calicut airport

Eighteen people are dead after an Air India Express flight which was carrying 191 passengers crash-landed at an airport in southern India.

The plane's fuselage split in two after crash landing at Kozhikode airport in Calicut in the state of Kerala.

At least 18 passengers are dead and 122 have been injured, police said. Abdul Karim, a senior Kerala state police officer, said the dead included one of the pilots of the Air India Express flight.

Mr Karim added that at least 15 of the injured were in critical condition, and that rescue operations were over.

The plane's "black box", containing flight details that could give more details about what went wrong, has been recovered and the government has launched an investigation.

Indian news reports said the plane skid off the runway during heavy rain.

The incident was caused by poor weather conditions
AFP via Getty Images

Rajiv Jain, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Ministry, said the incident was caused by poor weather conditions.

The news reports said the plane didn't catch fire. They said passengers were evacuated from the Boeing aircraft.

The NDTV news channel said the plane flew from Dubai to Kozhikode in southern India.

Air India Express is a subsidiary of Air India.

It was a repatriation flight carrying Indian citizens back to country, officials said. Regular commercial flights have been halted in India because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Jain said there were 174 adult passengers, 10 infants, two pilots and four cabin crew on board the aircraft.

Amitabh Kant, who heads the government's planning commission, said the runway is on a hilltop with deep gorges on either side, making it difficult to land.

A few passengers were trapped inside the wreckage 
AFP via Getty Images

"The incident happened because of heavy rains and poor visibility. This is truly devastating," he told NDTV.

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."

Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi, said: "My deepest condolences to the loved ones of crew members, passengers who lost their lives in the tragic Air India plane mishap in Kozhikode. Praying for the well being and recovery of all survivors."

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