BERNARD SHAW, CNN ANCHOR: To India now, where officials fear the death toll from an early morning plane crash could approach 60. A commercial jetliner overshot a runway in Patna and plowed into homes nearby. Our CNN New Delhi bureau chief Satinder Bindra has details.</s>SATINDER BINDRA, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Authorities say several people have survived this crash. The accident happened when a 20-year-old Boeing 737 was coming into land at Patna Airport. Aviation officials tell CNN the domestic Indian airliner then clipped a bridge and crashed into a row of houses about two kilometers, or one mile, from the airport. The plane was carrying 52 passengers and six crew members. Several people on the ground are also believed to have been killed. India's minister for civil aviation has confirmed eyewitness accounts one of the planes engines was on fire just before it crashed. (on camera): Eyewitnesses say there was complete chaos here just after the accident. No ambulances were seen on the site for a while, but screaming relatives, policemen and area residents quickly surrounded the plane and managed to pull out several passengers from the burning wreckage. (voice-over): The survivors are being treated at a local hospital. Many have burn and concussion injuries. Relatives of passengers and crew members have now been flown to the crash site. The crashed plane is part of Air Alliance, owned by the state- operated Indian Airlines. The plane's last major checkup was done on June 29. Aviation officials say haze surrounded the airport at the time of the crash. But they say flying conditions were acceptable. The army is now assisting civilian authorities at the crash site. Investigators have also reached the scene and are trying to establish the cause of the crash. Satinder Bindra, CNN, Patna, Eastern India.
Indian Officials Fear Death Toll from 737 Crash Could Approach 60