Himalaya Harbinger, Uttarakhand Bureau.
Authorities have so far identified 31 victims of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad through DNA testing and 12 families have claimed the mortal remains till now, an official said on Sunday. The process of DNA matching of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, who also died in the June 12 plane crash, was underway, additional civil superintendent Dr Rajnish Patel told reporters.
As many of the bodies are burnt beyond recognition or damaged otherwise, authorities are carrying out DNA tests to establish the identity of victims of the horrific tragedy.
“Thirty one DNA samples have matched till now, and 12 bodies have already been handed over to the respective families. These deceased were from Udaipur, Vadodara, Kheda, Mehsana, Ahmedabad and Botad districts,” said Patel, professor of surgery at the government-run B J Medical College.
The DNA matching process for former CM Rupani was still on, he added.
As many as 230 teams were formed to coordinate with the victims’ families, officials earlier said. The victims included 241 of the 242 passengers and crew members on board the London-bound flight. One passenger miraculously survived.
All but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board the Boeing 787-8(AI171) and another 29 persons, including five MBBS students, on the ground were killed in the plane crash on Thursday.
The aircraft came down moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport before falling inside the nearby campus of the Medical College in Meghaninagar area and going up in flames.
