Church grieves for Air India crash victims

The Catholic Church has expressed its sorrow over the deaths of 158 people who died when an Air India flight crashed in Mangalore on Saturday.

President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, said in a message of condolence that the Church in India was grieving over the "great loss of life in the air tragedy".

"We are aware that words cannot take away the grief, sorrow and pain, but we offer our prayers and solidarity to the families," he said.

"The Church prays that those who have survived this ordeal may soon recover.

"We extend all support to the survivors to enable them to cope and recover, and to help them in all ways possible.

"The Church prays for the eternal repose of the dead and implores the Almighty and merciful God for his gifts of comfort and strength on those who mourn the loss of their loved ones."

The Air India flight was flying from Dubai to Mangalore with 160 passengers and six crew members on board.

On landing the plane overshot the runway, before going down a ravine and bursting into flames. Eight people survived the crash.

Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari said that he joined all citizens in sending condolences to the members of the bereaved families and "praying to the Almighty to grant them the strength to withstand this immense loss".

According to official figures, 48 of the total of 50 passengers identified so far were from the northern districts of Kerala.

Across that state, special prayers were held on Sunday for victims and their grieving families.

The Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) had asked its dioceses to conduct special prayers in all its churches.

The crash of the Dubai-Mangalore flight is believed to be the worst air disaster in India in more than a decade.