Hindi film industry pays homage to plane crash victims

From mega star Amitabh Bachchan to Priyanka Chopra, Indian Hindi film stars have come together to pay homage to the  victims of the plane crash at Mangalore airport today.

The stars expressed their grief at the tragic accident where an Air India Express plane from Dubai with 166 persons on board overshot the runway while landing, while 159 people are feared dead.

"Feeling terrible! Plane crash! Air India flight from Dubai to Mangalore crashed on landing, overshot runway.. so sad.. so sad," wrote Big B on his Twitter account.

"Looking at visuals of the plane crash tragedy, just not feeling good about getting all normal and Tweeting and carrying on with work... I wrote about excess and balance on my blog last night... Is the plane tragedy God's way of balancing ..?? Sad and disturbed," he wrote in a later post.

Stars including Gul Panag, Mallika Sherawat and Anupam Kher have also tweeted the telephone helpline numbers set up by the authorities to facilitate dissemination of information regarding the air crash.

"Please pray for the families that have lost the ones they love in this horrific crash. We can't even begin to imagine their pain and sorrow. Also pray for the souls of those who have been cruelly taken away from their families in such a tragic situation. RIP," wrote Priyanka on her Twitter page.

Actor Riteish Deshmukh wrote, "Shocking and tragic news about the air crash- my prayers with the families, who have lost loved ones. May god give them strength. RIP."

Veteran actor Shammi Kapoor also tweeted his homage, writing, "The Air India crash is a very sad happening. My heart goes out to the families of the deceased. Let us pray for the departed souls. OM"

According to the police, 65 charred bodies have been recovered and fire has been doused from the accident site in the coastal city, nearly six hours after one of India's worst ever air mishap occurred at 6.30am. A majority of the victims are Keralites.

Filmmaker Karan Johar said on the micro-blogging site, "Just heard about the Air India crash....its too sad!!! Too upsetting to hear all the news coming in about the crash...thoughts, prayers and strength to all the families."

"Just heard about the plane crash in Mangalore... shocking! very sad..." wrote Deepika Padukone.