At least four people reportedly survived the crash. There were 52 passengers and six crew aboard the Boeing 737. It was not immediately known how many people on the ground were killed.
The survivors were taken to Patna Medical College Hospital,
said Baljit Singh, police inspector-general. The cause of
the crash was not known -- but eye-witness reports said the aircraft was on fire before it hit the ground. Star Television reported that the plane crashed at 6:30 a.m. (0100 GMT).
Family dies
Officials said the plane crashed into a government housing
estate about half a kilometer (one-third of a mile)
southwest of the airport. Witnesses said a family of five
died when the plane smashed into their home.
"The plane was on fire before it hit the house," onlooker
Ash Kerri said, adding the plane, spewing flames, dipped
before it hit the building.
Authorities said that one of the plane's engines had caught
fire before the accident. Smoke billowed from scattered
debris as rescuers sifted through the wreckage.
The plane continued to burn approximately two hours after the accident. Some men reportedly grabbed a hose and tried to douse the flames.
"The aircraft was 95 percent burned ... The situation looks
quite bad," Alliance Air managing director A.K. Goyal said.
Scene chaotic
There were reports that a crowd had pulled two or three
people from the plane before it was engulfed in flames.
However, airport station manager H.H. Khan said he could not
confirm the reports.
The Associated Press reported that a crowd of onlookers and relatives scrambled over and around the wreckage. Many screamed and cried as they tried to find survivors.
Amid the chaotic scene, officials tried to rescue survivors
and retrieve bodies.
The plane was traveling from Calcutta to New Delhi, but was
to make a stop at eastern India's Patna airport, in Bihar,
India's poorest state. Alliance Air is a subsidiary of
state-run Indian Airlines.
The worst airplane accident in Indian history -- in which
349 people died -- occurred in November 1996 when a Saudi
jetliner collided in air with a Kayak cargo plane over New
Delhi.
CNN New Delhi Bureau Chief Satinder Bindra, the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
