Praful Patel owns moral responsibility for Mangalore crash

NEW DELHI - Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Saturday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and owned moral responsibility for the Air India Boeing 737 crash in Mangalore in which at least 159 people were killed.

“I expressed my anguish. I told him about my personal and moral responsibility as head of the civil aviation family,” Patel told reporters after meeting the prime minister at his 7, Race Course Road residence.

Though he did not give a direct answer to queries about his having offered to resign, Patel said he had “a great sense of personal anguish and felt morally responsible that such a tragic incident had taken place”.

Patel went to Mangalore Saturday morning soon after the crash to oversee the rescue operations.