World

India identifies 104 victim bodies of plane crash

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-23 15:00

India identifies 104 victim bodies of plane crash

A surviving child is taken to a hospital after the plane crash in Mangalore May 22, 2010. [Photo/Agencies]

NEW DELHI - Indian authorities Sunday claimed to have identified the bodies of 104 victims of the Air India Express plane crash after rescue teams worked through the night at the smoldering scene of the accident site at Mangalore airport in the southern state of Karnataka.

"A total of 104 bodies have been identified and handed over to relatives. Fifty four bodies are yet to be identified. However, the black box of the aircraft is also yet to be traced. Aviation investigators are searching for it," state police chief Ajai Kumar Singh told the media at the crash site.

Meanwhile, a team of experts have arrived at the crash site from neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh's capital Hyderabad to carry out DNA tests to identify those bodies charred beyond recognition.

The Air India Express plane, a budget carrier of the country's national carrier, crashed after overshooting as it attempted to land at the Mangalore airport's hilltop runway, and exploded into a fiery wreckage Saturday, killing 158 people in what is being claimed as one of India's worst aviation disasters in 14 years.

Eight passengers miraculously survived the crash.