An Air India Express flight from Dubai skidded off the runway at its destination Karipur Airport, Kozhikod, on Friday, and broke into two. The flight, IX1344, was part of the Vande Bharat repatriation mission.
Most people on board the Boeing 737 jet have been evacuated, with at least 35 of them taken to hospital with injuries, authorities said.
The airline said there were 184 passengers - including 10 children and seven crew members, of which two were pilots - on board flight IX-1344 when it crashed at Calicut, also known as Kozhikode.
The flight was being operated by the government to repatriate Indians stuck overseas during the coronavirus crisis.
"20 dead, 123 injured and 10 seriously injured in Kozhikode plane crash incident at Karipur Airport. The death toll has since been revised to 16, reports Gulf News.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the plane fell into a valley and broke in two after skidding off the end of the runway. No fire was reported at the time of landing, the aviation regulator said.
According to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, the aircraft circled the airport several times and made two attempts to land on the tabletop runway, surrounded by deep gorges on both sides.
"Distressed to learn about the tragic accident of Air India Express aircraft in Kozhikode, Kerala. Have instructed NDRF [National Disaster Response Force] to reach the site at the earliest and assist with the rescue operations," Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah tweeted.
"Pained by the plane accident in Kozhikode. My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest," Modi wrote on Twitter.
The incident happened at around 7pm amid heavy rainfall in the region.
There have been flooding and landslides, as India's monsoon season reaches its peak.
The pilot, Captain Dipak Vasant Sathe, has died, said Air India. Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe was an Indian Air Force veteran who retired in June 2003 as Wing Commander before joining Air India. His co-pilot has also passed away.
A survivor of the crash was quoted by Malayalam channel Janam TV as saying that after the flight landed and skid off the runway, it went on for a few minutes, the front portion of the plane crashed. The front seats were occupied mostly by families. People in the front half of the plane suffered injuries, those towards the end escaped with minor injuries.
BS/