Three Ethopian Airlines crash victims from Guj cremated

Three remaining members of a family of six from Gujarat who perished in a plane crash in Ethiopia in March this year have been cremated after a DNA test proved their identities.

The last rites of the three crash victims were performed on Wednesday, the family members said.

Six members of a family from Gujarat, who lived in Canada, were killed when the Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed, minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa on March 10 this year.

As many as 149 passengers and eight crew members were killed in the crash.

The victims included Pannagesh Vaidya (73), his wife Hansini (67), their daughter Kosha (37), son-in-law Prerit Dixit (45) and two teenage granddaughters Anushka and Ashka.

Since the bodies were charred beyond recognition, the authorities insisted on a DNA test to identify them before handing them over to the family members.

A month ago, bodies of Kosha and her parents were handed over to her brother and last rites were performed, said Prerit Dixit's father Virendra, who lives in Surat.

"Recently, our DNA matched with the remains of my son and granddaughters. My elder son Arpit, who lives in Australia, brought their remains from Ethiopia on Wednesday, after which we cremated them," Dixit told media-persons here today.