Ahmedabad: Three days after the devastating Air India Express Flight AI171 crash in Ahmedabad, authorities have made huge progress in identifying the victims. As of Sunday, DNA testing has confirmed the identities of 32 victims, and the remains of 14 have been handed over to their families, according to an official statement.
The identification process has been painstaking, as many bodies were severely burned or damaged beyond recognition. Authorities are relying heavily on DNA analysis to establish the identities of the victims of this horrific tragedy.
The victims identified so far hail from various districts across Gujarat and Rajasthan. Additional Civil Superintendent Dr Rajnish Patel stated that the process of matching DNA samples to former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who also died in the crash, is currently underway.
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“Thirty-two DNA samples have matched till now, and 14 bodies have already been handed over to the respective families. These deceased were from Udaipur, Vadodara, Kheda, Mehsana, Arvalli, Ahmedabad and Botad districts,” said Patel.
Meanwhile, the Gujarat government, while addressing the emotional toll this tragedy has taken on the affected families, announced that grief counsellors will be assigned to each family to provide much-needed mental health support. This critical step aims to mitigate the long-term psychological impact of this catastrophic event.
The scale of the operation involved in coordinating with the victims’ families is immense. Alok Pandey, the Gujarat relief commissioner and revenue secretary, reported that 230 teams have been mobilised to liaise with families.
To streamline administrative processes and avoid potential complications, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation will issue death certificates on the spot. Village officials will immediately issue family relation cards to prevent inheritance issues, thereby facilitating a swift and efficient response.
Teams comprised of deputy collector- or tehsildar-rank officers have been assigned to individual families to ensure personalised support and seamless coordination. When bodies are released, they will be transported to their respective villages or districts by ambulance, escorted by police, Pandey said.
“A grief counsellor will be assigned to every family to deal with the mental trauma,” Pandey said.
The government has also established contact with families of the 11 foreign nationals who died in the crash. The majority of these foreign nationals are reported to be from the UK. The team is working closely with the British Deputy Consul General, the Ministry of External Affairs, and Air India to facilitate repatriation and provide support.
“One entire team has been set up for the foreign nationals. We have contacted the Deputy British Consul General. Our deputy collector-rank officer is in touch with them. The MEA (Ministry of External Affairs), Air India are in touch with them,” Pandey said.
The crash itself resulted in the tragic loss of nearly all the passengers and crew aboard the London-bound Boeing 787-8 (AI171). A total of 241 of the 242 passengers and crew, along with 29 people on the ground, including five MBBS students, were killed when the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff, catching fire upon impact. The investigation into the cause of the crash remains ongoing.
