A week after the death of 270 people in the Ahmedabad aircraft accident, 220 victims have been identified through DNA test and 202 of them have been handed over to the mortal remains to their families.
Air India aircraft AL-171, carrying 242 passengers and crew members, crashed in Ahmedabad on 12 June. Shortly after flying in Meghaninagar area of the city, the aircraft collided with a medical complex, killing everyone except a person in the aircraft, while about 29 people on the ground also died.
Officers are matching DNA to establish the identity of the victims, as many bodies have been burnt or damaged beyond identity.
Health Minister and Gujarat government spokesman Rishikesh Patel said, “So far 220 DNA samples have been matched and relatives of these victims have been contacted. The bodies of 202 victims have already been handed over to their families. And the process of identifying more victims is going on.”
Patel X reported that these 202 persons include 160 Indians, of which 151 were passengers, seven Portuguese citizens, 34 British citizens and one Canadian citizen.
The minister said that the body of 15 victims was sent to their destination by air, while 187 were taken by road.
The state government had earlier stated that samples of 250 victims were collected to identify, including people in the unfortunate aircraft as well as people killed on the ground.
