Greece sends condolences to India over air tragedy

ATHENS - Greece Prime Minister George Papandreou has sent a letter of condolence to his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh, expressing the Greek government’s and the peoples’ sorrow over the plane crash that happened Saturday in India’s Mangalore city.

“I would like to express my deepest pain for this tragic loss of so many lives. At this difficult moment, on behalf of the Greek people also, please accept our condolences and our support for the families of the victims and our best wishes for a quick recovery of the survivors,” Papandreou was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

At least 158 people were killed when a packed Air India Express flight from Dubai crashed Saturday while landing at Mangalore’s “table top” airport, breaking into pieces and falling into a deep gorge in balls of fire. Only eight passengers survived in what was one of India’s worst aviation disasters.