Thorough probe into crash needed: Minister

NEW DELHI - Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Mullappally Ramachandran Saturday said only a thorough investigation would reveal the reason behind the aircrash at Mangalore airport that killed at least 159 people.

“All technical aspects and angles should be probed to know the cause of the tragedy,” Mullappally told IANS over the phone from Mangalore, where he had gone to oversee the rescue operations.

Around 50 of the victims belonged to north Kerala and were returning home from Dubai. Mangalore is near the Kerala border.

Asked whether a sabotage angle would be probed, the minister said “all aspects should be probed”.

Expressing profound grief at the death of passengers in the tragedy, Mullappally said the accident showed that the safety standards in civil aviation should be strengthened.

Civil Aviation Secretary M.M. Nambiar told reporters that 146 bodies had been recovered from the debris of the Air India flight that crashed, and a court of inquiry will be ordered.