Air India crash: 220 victims identified, 202 bodies handed over to kin

Over a week after 270 people were killed in the Ahmedabad plane crash, 220 victims have been identified through DNA tests, and the mortal remains of 202 of them were handed over to their families, a Gujarat minister said on Friday.

A London-bound Air India flight AI-171 carrying 242 passengers and crew members crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12. All but one on board the plane died along with nearly 29 on the ground when the aircraft smashed into a medical complex in Meghaninagar area of the city shortly after its take-off.

Authorities are carrying out DNA matching to establish the identity of the victims, as several bodies were charred beyond recognition or damaged.

So far, 220 DNA samples have been matched, and relatives of these victims were contacted. The mortal remains of 202 victims have already been handed over to their kin. The process to identify more victims is underway, said Rushikesh Patel, the health minister and the Gujarat government's spokesperson.

These 202 individuals include 160 Indians, of whom 151 were passengers, seven Portuguese nationals, 34 British nationals and one Canadian, said Patel X.

While the mortal remains of 15 victims were sent to their respective destinations by air, 187 were transported by road, the minister added.

The state government had earlier said that samples of 250 victims, including persons on board the ill-fated flight as well as those killed on the ground, were collected for identification.