12 Indians among 43 killed in Sharjah crash

Forty-three people, including 12 Indians, on an Iranian plane were killed when it crashed and burst into flames just before landing at Sharjah airport in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.

Two of the three survivors on the Dutch-built Fokker 50 of Kish Air, which had taken off from Iranian island of Kish, were battling for life in a hospital, officials said.

Among the dead were 19 Iranians and four Egyptians, according to report.

UAE's official WAM (Wakalat Anba'a al-Emarat) news agency said 33 charred bodies have been recovered from the crash site.

The plane with a crew of six crashed at 11:00 am local time (1230 IST) in an isolated area between the emirates of Sharjah and Ajman, 5 km north of the Sharjah international airport, WAM said quoting sources at the airport.

Director General of the Sharjah Civil Aviation Department and the Sharjah International Airport said the airport's control tower did not receive any distress call from aircraft.

Local television networks showed rescue workers looking for survivors in the burning wreckage of the aircraft and a row of bodies covered in red blankets.

An official Iranian statement said that 27 passengers on board were from countries other than Iran.

Kish is a favourite destination for foreigners because the cheap and short flights, which are very basic in terms of facilities, carry passengers with visit visa out of the country and bring them back to fulfill a mandatory residence visa requirement.

There have been demands that these flights should be scrapped. On any such flights many Indians are usually present.

Following is the list of 12 Indians aboard Kish Air that crashed in the United Arab Emirates:
1. Parshotam Lal
2. Pookkottil Manoj
3. Jaganathan S
4. Kanbabamy K
5. Naseeb Mustafa
6. Parviz Nama
7. Shameem Parviz
8. Parviz Ahmed
9. Mohanan K S
10. Abdul Salam
11. Khan Faisal
12. James Mhraya