Air India flight skids off runway at Kozhikode Airport, 14 including Pilot dead

Malappuram: An Air India Express flight coming from Dubai has crash landed at an airport in Kerala. The plane had at least 170 passengers on board.The Malappuram SP Abdul Kareem said there could be casualties but no count was possible since rescue operations are progressing.According to sources A pilot and 13 other passengers died due to the incident which includes 2 kids

The plane skidded off the runway while attempting to land in heavy rain. Its fuselage then split in two, news agency Reuters reported, citing local television. 

The flight was coming from Dubai. 

Six crew members were on board in addition to the passengers, news agency Asian News International said in a tweet. 

A state official said at least the pilot had been killed in the crash, with police reporting that dozens of passengers had been injured. 

Former Union Minister of State for Culture, and Tourism Alphons Kannanthanam tweeted that all passengers had been evacuated.

"As per the initial reports rescue operations are on and passengers are being taken to hospital for medical care," the civil aviation ministry said in the statement, adding that there was no fire on board.

kp/rc (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)