NEW DELHI, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- A major aviation disaster was averted after a passenger plane of India's national carrier Air India hit the boundary wall of an airport in the southern state of Tamil Nadu while taking off for Dubai early Friday morning, officials said.
"The plane carrying 136 people, including the crew, hit the boundary wall at Trichy airport. Fortunately, there have been no casualties in the incident. The flight was later diverted to India's financial capital Mumbai," an aviation official said.
Air India has said that the pilot and the co-pilot have been taken off duty, pending probe.
Local TV channels showed footage of the collapsed airport boundary wall and reported that some parts of the plane's lower body parts has also been found at the airport.
Meanwhile, India's civil aviation regulator has also ordered a probe into the incident. "The probe will ascertain the exact cause of the accident. Action will follow, following the report," said the official.
