President, VP, PM condole deaths in air crash; UPA functions put off

NEW DELHI: President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the nation in condoling the loss of lives in Mangalore plane crash and as a mark of respect to the deceased the government cancelled functions for celebrating first anniversary of UPA-II on Saturday.

Singh announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of those killed and Rs 50,000 each to those injured in the crash from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.

The President expressed her deep grief and sorrow and condoled the loss of lives, a Rashtrapati spokesperson said.

Vice President Hamid Ansari said he joined all citizens in sending condolences to the members of the bereaved families and "praying to the Almighty to grant them the strength to withstand this immense loss."

As a mark of respect to those who died in the tragedy, the government postponed a function slated for this evening to release the government's report on completion of one year in office.

A dinner to be hosted at the Prime Minister's residence as part of the celebrations was also put off, a statement from the PMO said here.

Singh spoke to Home Minister P Chidambaram and Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, who briefed him on the ongoing rescue operations being carried out at the Mangalore airport.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, senior BJP leader L K Advani, BJP President Nitin Gadkari along with a host of other leaders also condoled the deaths caused by the air crash.

In her message, Gandhi wished speedy recovery to those injured.