Not enough cold storage, Air India crash victims' bodies in AC mortuary—inside Civil Hospital's morgue
ThePrint had, last night, witnessed several bodies on the floor of the post-mortem room at Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, before they were eventually moved to the mortuary.
With cold storage capacity limited, the bodies, that should ideally be stored at 2-6 degrees Celsius, are currently kept in the air-conditioned mortuary of Civil Hospital Ahmedabad.
Ahmedabad: In the wake of the Air India tragedy, the authorities in Ahmedabad are racing to complete DNA sampling so that bodies of victims of Air India Flight 171 can be identified and handed over to their families.
Hospital sources said the city's combined morgue facilities, including those at the Civil Hospital, simply do not have enough cold storage capacity to accommodate so many bodies. Only a handful of other hospitals in Ahmedabad have cold storage, and even that is limited.
'At Asarwa Civil Hospital, where the bodies have currently been taken, there is cold storage space for only 36. Across Ahmedabad, total capacity is just 66—36 at Asarwa, 18 at Sola Civil Hospital, and 12 at VS Hospital—according to a senior doctor at Asarwa.
During a media briefing, ThePrint asked Minakshi Parikh, professor and Dean of BJ Medical College, about the storage capacity constraints, but she did not respond.
Doctors are working to to preserve the bodies until DNA identification can be completed and matched with samples from relatives. Many families are still in the process of submitting their DNA for testing
But in this heat, bodies are now decomposing fast.
'All bodies were shifted to the mortuary complex. We cleaned this area but the smell of dead bodies is still in the air,' said a medical staff member of the post-mortem room.
The yellow building of the post-mortem complex is locked and a security guard has been posted to stop anyone from entering.
According to sources, by 15 June, DNA reports of those relatives who gave their samples on Thursday night should be ready. Only then can the victims' bodies be matched with their relatives.
'But all the bodies are highly charred. Doctors can't even identify them,' said a doctor who is part of the DNA sampling team, on condition of anonymity. He said collecting the samples was not an easy task considering the condition of the bodies.
At the BJ medical College, collection of samples from the victims' families is underway. A dedicated team of around 30 lab technicians were manning five desks collecting samples.
The aircraft, carrying 242 people, including 230 passengers, 10 crew members, and two pilots, plunged into a residential complex near BJ Medical College's boys hostel on Thursday.
Tata Sons, who owned the aircraft, announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore to each family and the civil aviation ministry has ordered a high level probe.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: Charred remains to make DNA matching in Air India crash challenging, says forensic university in Gujarat
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