An airliner, which belonged to the Yemeni state carrier Yemenia Air, has crashed into the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros today, said a senior government official. Our sources say that 150 peoples were on board.

The Comoros covers three volcanic islands namely Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli, in the Mozambique Channel and is exactly located at 300 km (190 miles) northwest of Madagascar and a similar distance east of the African mainland.

The accident is said to have happened in the early hours of Tuesday.

Comoros Vice-President Idi Nadhoim told Reuters from the airport at the main island’s capital Moroni that “We don't know if there are any survivors among the 150 people on the plane.” But he failed to give any more details about the exact location, number of peoples on board etc.

“They have just called me to come to the hospital. They said a plane had crashed,” he told the Reuters.