"This is a highly unfortunate event. The police force, bomb squad, fire force and all hospitals are working together to help out in this situation. We are doing the best we can," said the state's Inspector General of Police Gopal B. Hosur.

According to Indian civil aviation sources, initial investigations have revealed that the plane, piloted by a Russian, landed about 2,000 feet (about 609.6 meters) away from the touch down point on the runway whose length is 8,038 feet ( about 2,450 meters).

"The pilot was a Russian while the Co-pilot is S.S. Ahluwalia. Both pilots were based in Mangalore but they couldn't land properly. The airport is situated in a hilly area and is considered one of the most difficult airports to take off and land, " the sources said.

Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress party President Sonia Gandhi have condemned the loss of lives in the crash.

The prime minister has also announced a compensation of 200,000 rupees (4,000 U.S. dollars) each to the families of those killed and 50,000 rupees (1,000 U.S. dollars) each to those injured.

Indian Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has also reached the crash sit to oversee the rescue operations.

India's air safety record has been good in the past decade despite a number of private airlines operating in the skies.

The last major plane crash happened in the city of Patna in July 2000, when an Alliance Air flight crashed, killing at least 60 people.