President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the nation on Saturday in mourning the loss of lives in the Mangalore plane crash. As a mark of respect to the deceased, the government cancelled all functions to celebrate the first anniversary of the second term of the United Progressive Alliance government today.
Dr Singh announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of those killed and Rs 50,000 each to those injured in the crash from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.
The President expressed her deep grief and sorrow and mourned the loss of lives, a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said. Vice President Hamid Ansari said 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."
As a mark of respect to those who died in the tragedy, the government postponed a function slated for today evening to release the government's report on completion of one year in office. A dinner to be hosted at the prime minister's residence as part of the celebrations was also postponed, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said.
Dr Singh spoke to Home Minister P Chidambaram and Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, who briefed him on the ongoing rescue operations being carried out at the Mangalore airport.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani and BJP president Nitin Gadkari along with a host of other leaders also mourned the deaths caused by the air crash. In her message, Gandhi wished speedy recovery to the injured victims.
Advani said, "The crash in Mangalore this morning is shocking. I have spoken to the Karnataka chief minister and urged him that his government should concentrate all attention on providing relief and rehabilitation to the families of the victims".
"I offer my deep condolences to the bereaved families," he said in a statement.
Advani expressed hope that the airline authorities would undertake the necessary investigation to find out what made the aircraft overshoot the runway and crash.
As many as 160 people were feared killed when the aircraft overshot the Mangalore runway and plunged beyond the boundary wall of the airport near Kenjar village. Eight people survived the accident.
