Some Air India victims' families in U.K. were sent wrong remains, lawyer says
Authorities in India sent the wrong remains to some British families whose loved ones were killed in a plane crash last month, their lawyer has claimed, as relatives reckoned with the human cost of the world's deadliest aviation accident in a decade.
At least two U.K. nationals were discovered to have been misidentified after they were repatriated, according to James Healy-Pratt, an international aviation lawyer who is representing some of the British relatives of victims.
In one case, a coroner in London discovered that the DNA of several bodies had been co-mingled in one of the caskets, Healy-Pratt told U.K. news agency PA Media.
Dr Fiona Shaw 'picked up DNA anomalies' when the bodies were first repatriated, Healy-Pratt said.
'My understanding was that the co-mingling was at the very beginning, which alerted Dr Wilcox to the fact that she had to be 100% assiduous about checking the identification of the incoming remains,' the lawyer added.
'She was then able to determine that one particular loved one was not at all who the family thought they were,' said Healy-Pratt.
All but one of 242 passengers and crew members were killed on June 12, after an Air India jet lost momentum and hurtled into a densely populated neighborhood in Ahmedabad, western India.
The London-bound aircraft had barely left the runway of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport before it spun out of control and nosedived into the BJ Medical College and Hospital hostel – also killing 19 people on the ground.
Authorities have not yet released the definitive cause of the crash, but a preliminary report suggested that the fuel control switches in the cockpit of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner had been flipped, depriving the engines of power.
In an audio recording from the black box, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he flipped the switches, according to the assessment by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau published last week. The other pilot responds that he did not.
Moments later, the switches were flipped to turn the fuel supply back on. Both engines relit and one began to 'progress to recovery,' but it was too late to halt the plane's tumultuous descent.
Of those killed on board, at least 169 were Indian nationals, seven were Portuguese and one was from Canada. The only survivor was Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, one of 53 U.K. passengers that day who told local media that he escaped by clinging onto a small space near the door by his seat.
'Deeply troubled'
The relatives of three victims said they were 'deeply troubled' by the revelations on Wednesday, calling on authorities to act with 'care, co-ordination and respect.'
'Recent developments have only confirmed what many feared: that serious mistakes may have been made, and that the dignity and rights of victims and their families were not safeguarded as they should have been,' they said in a statement.
The relatives of Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa Vorajee and their four-year-old
daughter Sara Nanabawa added that while they are 'confident' they received the 'correct bodies' - they were still 'deeply troubled by what this means for other families who may still be searching for certainty and closure.'
'This isn't just a personal tragedy; it is a collective one.'
India's foreign ministry had been 'working closely with the U.K. side from the moment these concerns and issues' were raised, according to a spokesperson.
Authorities conducted identification of victims using 'established protocols and technical requirements,' foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X on Wednesday.
'All mortal remains were handled with the utmost professionalism and with due regard for the dignity of the deceased,' Jaiswal added. 'We are continuing to work with the U.K. authorities on addressing any concerns related to this issue.'
The case came on the heels of a meeting in London between India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, as the two nations sign a landmark free trade agreement.
Healy-Pratt, who is demanding 'financial justice' for the families, said he believes the allegations will be on the agenda for the talks this week.
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