Mangalore crash: Sarkozy conveys condolences to PM

New Delhi, May 23 (PTI) French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Sunday conveyed to India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh his
nation's "sincere condolences" on the death of 158 people in
the Mangalore air crash.
"As India is struck by an air tragedy near Mangalore,
in Karnataka state in south India, I wish to convey to you my
great sadness and to offer my most sincere condolences in the
name of the French people and in my own name," Sarkozy said in
a letter to the Prime Minister.
"My thoughts also go to the families of the deceased. I
would be very grateful to you for conveying to them the
solidarity of France in this painful ordeal," he added.
In his message to India's External Affairs Minister S M
Krishna, the French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs
Bernard Kouchner said, "I wish to offer my sincere
condolences, along with all members of the government. In this
ordeal, I share in the sorrow of the families of the victims."
The Air India Boeing 737-800 plane on way to Mangalore
from Dubai overshot the runway and crashed at the Mangalore
airport in Karnataka Saturday, killing 158 people in the
first major plane crash in India since 2000. PTI AJD
MRD