Relatives wait for remains after Air India crash
AHMEDABAD - Indian health officials have begun handing relatives the bodies of their loved ones after one of the world's worst plane crashes in decades, but most families were still waiting on Monday for the results of DNA testing.
Mourners have held funerals for some of the 279 people killed when the Air India jet crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, but others are facing an anguished wait.
"They said it would take 48 hours. But it's been four days and we haven't received any response," said Rinal Christian, 23, whose elder brother was a passenger on the jetliner.
There was one survivor out of 242 passengers and crew on board the London-bound plane when it slammed into a residential area of Ahmedabad, killing at least 38 people on the ground as well.
"My brother was the sole breadwinner of the family," Christian said on Sunday. "So what happens next?"
Among the latest victims identified was Vijay Rupani, a senior member of India's ruling party and former chief minister of Gujarat state.
His flag-draped coffin was carried in Ahmedabad by soldiers, along with a portrait of the politician draped in a garland of flowers.
Crowds gathered in a funeral procession for passenger Kinal Mistry in Anand district, a two-hour journey from Ahmedabad.
The 24-year-old had postponed her flight, leaving her father Suresh Mistry agonising that "she would have been alive" if she had stuck to her original plan.
Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members.
As of Monday afternoon, 114 crash victims have been identified, Gujarat's Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi wrote on social media platform X.
Rajnish Patel, a doctor at Ahmedabad's civil hospital, said: "This is a meticulous and slow process, so it has to be done meticulously only."
One victim's relative who did not want to be identified told AFP they had been instructed not to open the coffin when they receive it.
Witnesses reported seeing badly burnt bodies and scattered remains.
- 'We need to know' -
Nilesh Vaghela, a casket maker, was asleep when the crash happened in the early afternoon.
"Then around 5:00 pm, I got a call from Air India saying they need coffins," he told AFP after delivering dozens of caskets.
"My work is very sad. All these innocent people died, small children," he said. "Someone has to do it."
AFP | Sam PANTHAKY
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner erupted into a fireball when it went down moments after takeoff, smashing into buildings used by medical staff.
The task of clearing debris from the scorched crash site went on in Ahmedabad, where an AFP photographer saw dozens of workers in yellow hard hats.
Indian authorities have yet to identify the cause of the disaster and have ordered inspections of Air India's Dreamliners.
The airline said one of its Dreamliners returned to Hong Kong airport on Monday "shortly after take off due to a technical issue" and was undergoing checks.
Indian authorities announced on Sunday that the second black box of the Ahmedabad plane, the cockpit voice recorder, had been recovered. This could offer investigators more clues about what went wrong.
AFP | Dibyangshu SARKAR
Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said on Saturday he hoped decoding the first black box, the flight data recorder, would "give an in-depth insight" into the circumstances of the crash.
Imtiyaz Ali, who was still waiting for a DNA match to find his brother, is also seeking answers.
"Next step is to find out the reason for this accident. We need to know," he told AFP.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
11 hours ago
- eNCA
Relatives wait for remains after Air India crash
AHMEDABAD - Indian health officials have begun handing relatives the bodies of their loved ones after one of the world's worst plane crashes in decades, but most families were still waiting on Monday for the results of DNA testing. Mourners have held funerals for some of the 279 people killed when the Air India jet crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, but others are facing an anguished wait. "They said it would take 48 hours. But it's been four days and we haven't received any response," said Rinal Christian, 23, whose elder brother was a passenger on the jetliner. There was one survivor out of 242 passengers and crew on board the London-bound plane when it slammed into a residential area of Ahmedabad, killing at least 38 people on the ground as well. "My brother was the sole breadwinner of the family," Christian said on Sunday. "So what happens next?" Among the latest victims identified was Vijay Rupani, a senior member of India's ruling party and former chief minister of Gujarat state. His flag-draped coffin was carried in Ahmedabad by soldiers, along with a portrait of the politician draped in a garland of flowers. Crowds gathered in a funeral procession for passenger Kinal Mistry in Anand district, a two-hour journey from Ahmedabad. The 24-year-old had postponed her flight, leaving her father Suresh Mistry agonising that "she would have been alive" if she had stuck to her original plan. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members. As of Monday afternoon, 114 crash victims have been identified, Gujarat's Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi wrote on social media platform X. Rajnish Patel, a doctor at Ahmedabad's civil hospital, said: "This is a meticulous and slow process, so it has to be done meticulously only." One victim's relative who did not want to be identified told AFP they had been instructed not to open the coffin when they receive it. Witnesses reported seeing badly burnt bodies and scattered remains. - 'We need to know' - Nilesh Vaghela, a casket maker, was asleep when the crash happened in the early afternoon. "Then around 5:00 pm, I got a call from Air India saying they need coffins," he told AFP after delivering dozens of caskets. "My work is very sad. All these innocent people died, small children," he said. "Someone has to do it." AFP | Sam PANTHAKY The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner erupted into a fireball when it went down moments after takeoff, smashing into buildings used by medical staff. The task of clearing debris from the scorched crash site went on in Ahmedabad, where an AFP photographer saw dozens of workers in yellow hard hats. Indian authorities have yet to identify the cause of the disaster and have ordered inspections of Air India's Dreamliners. The airline said one of its Dreamliners returned to Hong Kong airport on Monday "shortly after take off due to a technical issue" and was undergoing checks. Indian authorities announced on Sunday that the second black box of the Ahmedabad plane, the cockpit voice recorder, had been recovered. This could offer investigators more clues about what went wrong. AFP | Dibyangshu SARKAR Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said on Saturday he hoped decoding the first black box, the flight data recorder, would "give an in-depth insight" into the circumstances of the crash. Imtiyaz Ali, who was still waiting for a DNA match to find his brother, is also seeking answers. "Next step is to find out the reason for this accident. We need to know," he told AFP.
eNCA
2 days ago
- eNCA
Families hold funerals for Air India crash victims
INDIA - Grieving families were due to hold funerals in India on Sunday for their relatives who were among at least 279 killed in one of the world's worst plane crashes in decades. Health officials have begun handing over the first passenger bodies identified through DNA testing, delivering them in white coffins in the western city of Ahmedabad. "My heart is very heavy, how do we give the bodies to the families?" said Tushar Leuva, an NGO worker who has been helping with the recovery efforts. There was just one survivor out of 242 passengers and crew on board the Air India jet when it crashed Thursday into a residential area of Ahmedabad, killing at least 38 people on the ground. "How will they react when they open the gate? But we'll have to do it," Leuva told AFP at the mortuary on Saturday. One victim's relative who did not want to be named told AFP they had been instructed not to open the coffin when they receive it. AFP | Arun SANKAR Witnesses reported seeing badly burnt bodies and scattered remains. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner erupted into a fireball when it went down moments after takeoff, smashing into buildings used by medical staff. Mourning relatives have been providing DNA samples to be matched with passengers, with 31 identified as of Sunday morning. "This is a meticulous and slow process, so it has to be done meticulously only," Rajnish Patel, a doctor at Ahmedabad's civil hospital, said late Saturday. The majority of those injured on the ground have been discharged, he added, with one or two remaining in critical care. - Girls orphaned by crash - Indian authorities are yet to detail the cause of the disaster and have ordered inspections of Air India's Dreamliners. AFP | Punit PARANJPE Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Saturday he hoped decoding the recovered black box, or flight data recorder, would "give an in-depth insight" into what went wrong. Just one person miraculously escaped the wreckage, British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, whose brother was also on the flight. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members. Among the passengers was a father of two young girls, Arjun Patoliya, who had travelled to India to scatter his wife's ashes following her death weeks earlier. "I really hope that those girls will be looked after by all of us," said Anjana Patel, the mayor of London's Harrow borough where some of the victims lived. "We don't have any words to describe how the families and friends must be feeling," she added. AFP | DIBYANGSHU SARKAR While communities were in mourning, one woman recounted how she survived only by arriving late at the airport. "The airline staff had already closed the check-in," said 28-year-old Bhoomi Chauhan.
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Remembering the SS Wafra tragedy: a Durban marine engineer's brave rescue
John Sahadeo holds a photograph of the the SS Wafra. Image: Yoshini Perumal IN AN INSPIRING story, Silverglen resident John Sahadeo, recalled recently how he bravely rescued nine crew members from the SS Wafra during a tragic incident at Cape Agulhas. Sahadeo, now, 79, said at the time he was the first Indian ship engineer in the 1960s. He told how he jumped into the sea at Cape Agulhas to help rescue the crew from the SS Wafra, a ship which had been carrying oil, hit a reef and caused a massive oil spill at sea, 54 years ago. He said he and his crew managed to save nine lives on February 29, 1971. In a recent interview, Sahadeo reminisced about his years at sea and the SS Wafra tragedy, which claimed one life. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading John Sahadeo Image: Supplied 'I was in awe of the sea and oved my job. I was in the first batch of Indians trained as a marine engineer and I was proud of the work that I did. 'On the day the SS Wafra came into difficulty at sea, our vessel was nearby and lent assistance. Our crew members and I jumped into the lifeboat and made our way to rescue the crew from the SS Wafra. The sea was rough that night. Nine of the crew members came down the ladder and were able to safely board our lifeboat, but we watched helplessly as one of them was swept off the ladder and could not be found,' he added. Sahadeo described the ship catastrophe as the most dangerous and scary experience he had experienced at sea in his almost 50-year long career. He said he was blessed to have had mentors who guided him during his teenage years. Sahadeo said while other Indians were being marginalised and side-lined during apartheid, he was taken aback by the kindness and generosity that some "white people" had shown him. 'My father was the sole supporter at home and when he passed on I was eight years old. My mother was illiterate and could not work to support us. We survived on a grant and could not even afford school fees. 'At the time, I was enrolled at ML Sultan Secondary. The principal, Mr Tholson, called me into the office one day to ask about the non-payment of my school fees. At the time, I was unable to afford the school uniform or shoes. My shoes were torn and I went to school with casual clothes. 'He asked me to bring my mother to school to discuss the payment of school fees. She could not speak English and Mr Tholson arranged for an interpreter. My mother was afraid of going to school. At the meeting she just said that she could not afford an education for me. What happened next was nothing short of amazing. 'The day after the meeting, Mr Tholson came to me with new school uniforms and shoes. He also had all the stationery and books I needed for the year. He arranged a bus ticket for me, which allowed me to travel to and from school. I had to take a ticket from the bus conductor and the school footed the bill. 'I was taken aback by Mr Tholson's generosity and from then on, he took an active interest in my wellbeing and my education,' he added. Sahadeo said when he was in matric, he was advised to take night classes to complete his studies and Mr Tholson arranged for him to work as a clerk at a Beacon Sweets. 'I was grateful because having a job and studying at night allowed me to get an education and also support my mother and my siblings. I jumped at the opportunity and I was promised that after a year, I would get an apprenticeship. I was paid R9.23 per week. 'But after the year was up, I was told that I would not be able to get the apprenticeship because I was Indian. Although this was the case, my boss said he would increase my wages to R10 per week because I was an excellent worker. 'I was disappointed and discussed this with Mr Tholson. He promised that he would look out for a better job for me. After two weeks, Mr Tholson called me and told me to resign immediately as he had secured another job for me. 'I took the bus straight to him. He took us in his car to the Unicorn shipping line and he said I could work there without worrying about racism. He said I would be able to grow according to my skills and not be held back due to my skin colour. 'After the introductions, I was told that I needed to board the ship. I was nervous and worried that I had not notified my mother. When I met the captain, he said I should bring my mother for a tour of the ship so she would be at ease about me going to sea. My mother thought it was a small tug boat and she was afraid that it would sink and I would drown. But when I took her to the ship, she was amazed at how big it was. She said it was like a floating hotel. 'My mother was taken on a tour by the captain and lunch and tea was prepared for her. I was over the moon when I was told that my salary would be R140 per month and that I would be paid overtime. The salary allowed me to take care of my siblings and my mother comfortably. 'I started as a marine engineering apprentice and became the first Indian marine engineer. I sailed aboard the Voorspeller, which was a cargo ship that carried sugar and soap to coastal areas. My 41-years at sea was like living a dream. When I turned 62, I had to retire from working aboard the ship and I was moved to a maritime centre, where I taught young students marine engineering. I retired when I was 65,' he said.
