KATHMANDU: An Air India Express plane with 190 people on board has crashed at an airport in the southern state of Kerala, killing at least 17 people, BBC reported.

According to the report, the Boeing 737, en route from Dubai, skidded off the runway in rain and broke in two after landing at Calicut airport.

The flight was repatriating Indians stranded by the coronavirus crisis.

Expressing grief over those killed in the accident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “pained by the plane accident”.

The rescue operation at the crash site has now been completed and survivors have been taken to hospitals in Calicut and Malappuram, according to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Dozens of people were injured, 15 of them seriously, a senior police officer said.

Air India Express said the two pilots were among those killed in the plane crash.

(With inputs from Agencies)