New Delhi: DNA profiling of all victims in the Air India crash is likely to get over by Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning, a senior doctor said on Monday, according to a Hindustan Times report. Scores of people have gathered in Ahmedabad to identify their relatives.
A team of 54 experts from Forensic Science Laboratories in Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, and Rajkot are working relentlessly to conduct profiling and matching tests. However, the final official toll of the accident has not be announced yet. As many as 241 on board, and at least 30 in the hostel building the AI-171 jet crashed into died.
Dr Rakesh Joshi, superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, was quoted by HT as saying that DNA matches have been confirmed for 119 victims of the crash. A total of 76 bodies have been handed over to families. Eight bodies, which didn’t need DNA sampling, were returned on Friday, he added. By Tuesday morning, at least 14 more bodies will be returned. Joshi added that the DNA profiling of all the victims will be completed by either Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning.
Former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was identified through DNA profiling, and his last rites were held in Rajkot on Monday.
The London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner went down 33 seconds after taking off on Thursday afternoon and crashed into the medical college hostel. The plane, carrying nearly a full load of 125,000 litres of fuel, started a slow descent soon after after taking off at 1:38 pm, before bursting into flames after hitting the ground.
Since Thursday, a number of relatives have poured into Ahmedabad, and waiting for days as officials grapple with identifying charred bodies and collecting DNA samples. One among them is Dr Pratik Joshi’s relatives from Rajasthan’s Banswara. They are waiting for DNA confirmation to claim the remains of Pratik, 41, his wife Dr Komi Vyas, and their children — Miraya, 8, and 5-year-old twins, Nakul and Pradyut.
