Identities of 11 plane crash victims ascertained through DNA tests

Authorities at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital have so far identified eleven victims of the June 12 Air India plane crash through DNA testing and started the process to hand over the bodies to their relatives, officials said on Saturday. Speaking at a press conference, Dr Rajnish Patel, professor of surgery at the government-run B J Medical College, said the mortal remains of one victim were handed over to the family on Saturday while those of another two victims will be handed over by the day's end. "DNAs of 11 victims of Ahmedabad plane crash have matched with kin so far," he said.

The civil hospital will contact the families as soon as a DNA match is found, and they should not rush to the hospital, he added. The bodies of eight victims, who were identified by their relatives and did not need DNA profiling, have already been handed over to their families by the hospital, officials had said earlier. Alok Pandey, Relief Commissioner and Revenue Secretary of Gujarat, said the deceased from the state hailed from 18 of the 33 districts.

As many as 230 teams were formed to coordinate with the families and the kin of 11 foreign nationals who died in the tragedy too have been contacted, he said. The victims included 241 of the 242 passengers and crew members on board the London-bound flight. One passenger miraculously survived. Doctors on Saturday said around 270 bodies have been brought to the hospital from the air crash site so far. The sole survivor, Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, is stable, recovering well and absolutely out of danger, Dr Patel told reporters, adding that most of the injured persons have been discharged and "one or two" are in critical care.  The London-bound Air India flight from Ahmedabad crashed into the premises of the B J Medical College hostel complex in the Meghaninagar area moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday afternoon. As many of the bodies are burnt beyond recognition or damaged otherwise, authorities are carrying out DNA tests to establish the identity of the victims. In order to expedite the DNA matching process, Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi held a meeting with the officials of the state Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) on Saturday.  "Apart from forensic experts from all over Gujarat, several experts sent by the Centre are working round the clock to match DNA samples. As soon as the results come, we send them to the civil hospital so that families can claim the bodies," he told repoters. "As of Friday, relatives of nearly 220 deceased persons had approached the police to give their samples," said police inspector Chirag Gosai, who is handling the affairs at the post-mortem room. They are sent to BJ Medical College, he added.