DNA samples of 11 Ahmedabad plane crash victims identified; families begin collecting remains

The Hindu

a day ago

The Gujarat government confirmed on Saturday that 11 victims of the Air India Flight AI171 crash have been identified through DNA testing, with the process of releasing remains to families now underway.
At a press briefing at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, Dr. Rajnish Patel, Head of Surgery, stated, 'We handed over one body to family members this morning, with two more to be released by evening.' He confirmed that 11 DNA matches have been verified, adding, 'And the families of those victims have been contacted to collect the remains,' he said.
Describing DNA matching as a 'meticulously slow process', he added, 'We need to carry it out with utmost care and precision.
When The Hindu asked him about the total number of crash victims' bodies at the hospital, Dr. Patel deflected the question, saying, 'That is not… I don't have that data.'
In response to another question about how many family members had come to provide DNA samples, he said, 'I do not have an exact number because I'm not involved in that area… and it is meaningless to dig into how many have come and gone… We have 11 positive results, and let us concentrate on that.'
Earlier, eight visually identifiable victims had already been released to relatives without requiring DNA analysis. Dr. Patel noted the DNA matching process typically requires 72 hours for completion.
'It will take nearly 72 hours to complete the exercise of matching the DNA samples. Once they match, bodies will be handed over to the relatives from the post-mortem room,' Dr. Patel said.
'It will take nearly 72 hours to complete the process of matching DNA samples. Once they match, the bodies will be handed over to relatives from the post-mortem room,' Dr. Patel added. He said that one more body was recovered on Saturday, which was stuck beneath the tail portion of the crashed aircraft.
According to Alok Kumar Pandey, Relief Commissioner and Secretary, Revenue Department, the state government had established contact with the families of 11 foreign nationals.
'A total of 230 teams have been formed to establish contact and hand over the mortal remains to the families. We began handing over the bodies today,' he said. Pandey added that the victims from Gujarat hailed from 18 districts and that the administration was also in touch with diplomats of other countries.
The senior IAS officer said death certificates were being issued on the spot to avoid any inconvenience to the families. 'Each body will be escorted to its native place in an ambulance with police protection. Grief counselors are also being provided to help families cope with the trauma,' he added.
The London-bound Air India flight from Ahmedabad crashed into a medical college hostel complex in the Meghaninagar area of the city moments after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday afternoon.
The victims included 241 of the 242 passengers and crew members on board the flight. One passenger miraculously survived. Briefing about the condition of the lone survivor, Dr. Patel said: 'he is a lucky man… his condition is stable and he can walk and talk normally.'
To expedite the DNA matching process, Gujarat's Minister of State for Home, Harsh Sanghavi, held a meeting with officials of the State Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) on Saturday.
Speaking after the meeting at the FSL in Gandhinagar, Sanghavi said the state government's priority was to complete the DNA matching exercise as quickly as possible.
'Apart from forensic experts from across Gujarat, several experts sent by the Centre are working round the clock to match DNA samples. As soon as the results are ready, they are sent to the Civil Hospital so that families can claim the bodies,' he said.
WTC final: South Africa ends 27-year drought of major ICC title
South Africa won the World Test Championship against titleholder Australia by five wickets after knocking off the last 69 runs required on the fourth morning of the final on Saturday.
The Proteas achieved their first major cricket title in 27 years, sparking celebrations at Lord's.
After electing to field first, South African bowlers led by Kagiso Rabada (5 for 51) and Marco Jansen (3 for 49) dismissed the defending champions Australia for 212. Steve Smith (66) and Beu Webster (72) were the main scorers for the Australian team. They moved from a portentous 213-2 overnight to 282-5, the second-highest successful run chase in the 141-year test history at the home of cricket.
Australia didn't give up the WTC mace easily, relentlessly attacking the stumps and pressuring a South Africa side with an infamous history of blowing winning positions on big ICC stages.
But South Africa was staunch and composed — only three boundaries in more than two hours — and lost only three wickets on Saturday in an air of inevitability.
'We've come a long way as a team, as a country,' an emotional Keshav Maharaj said. 'We always say we want to be good people and play good. We're moving in the right direction as a cricketing nation.
'After 25 years of pain, to finally get over the line is super emotional. We're so grateful to have Temba (Bavuma, captain) to get us over the line. Diversity is our strength, so to see the crowd, they stand for the meaning of our rainbow nation. To lift the trophy is going to unite the nation even more.' The desperate Australians used up all of their three reviews in vain within the first 90 minutes but fought to the end. They took the new ball but were still blunted by a flat pitch.
Markram was the colossus Australia could not topple until it was too late.
The opener resumed the day on 102 and was out for 136 when only six more runs were needed. He spent six hours, 23 minutes in the middle.
About 15 minutes later, Kyle Verreynne broke the tension by hitting the winning run, a drive into the covers.
Markram and captain Temba Bavuma set up the victory with an unbeaten and chanceless partnership of 143 runs the day before. They could not finish what they started, adding only four runs together before Bavuma edged Pat Cummins behind for 66, one more than he had overnight.
Tristan Stubbs was castled on 8 by Mitchell Starc with 41 runs needed and South Africa was too close to the finish to be denied.
But Markram couldn't have the pleasure himself. With six runs needed to win, he was caught at midwicket by Travis Head off Josh Hazlewood.
Australia didn't celebrate. Instead, players slapped Markram on the back and congratulated him on his match-winning knock as the Lord's crowd stood and applauded.
They stood again when the end finally came, a rout of red-hot Australia with five sessions to spare.
South Africa's only previous global trophy was the Champions Trophy's precursor in 1998. Before then and since, its history on the ICC's biggest stages has been infamously cruel.
The venues and dates of their most heartbreaking losses include Birmingham 1999, Dhaka 2011, Auckland 2015, Kolkata 2023 and Bridgetown 2024.
But London 2025 will go down as one of the greatest days in South Africa sports, when its cricket underdogs grabbed the advantage and didn't let go against one of the great Australia test sides.
South Africa was criticised before the final for its supposedly easier road — it didn't face Australia or England in a series in the 2023-25 WTC cycle — but it has won eight straight tests, its second-longest streak in history, and half of them away from home.
Iran President vows 'more severe' response if Israeli strikes persist
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned on Saturday that there would be a 'more severe and powerful response' if Israel continued to strike his country.
'The continuation of Zionist aggression will be met with a more severe and powerful response from the Iranian armed forces,' Pezeshkian said in a phone call with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to the Iranian presidency.
Earlier, Israel's Defense Minister also warned Iran on Saturday that 'Tehran will burn' if it continues firing missiles.
Speaking after an assessment meeting with the Army's Chief of Staff, Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Iran will pay a heavy price for harming Israeli citizens.
His comments come after Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel overnight Saturday following Israel's attack on Iran's nuclear program Friday morning.
The ongoing Israeli strikes appear to have halted — for now — any diplomacy between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. Israel and Iran signalled more attacks are coming despite urgent calls from world leaders to de-escalate to avoid all-out war.
The region is already on edge as Israel makes a new push to eliminate the Iranian-backed militant group Hamas in Gaza after 20 months of fighting.
Israel — which is widely believed to have a nuclear weapons program — said its hundreds of strikes on Iran over the past two days also killed nine senior scientists and experts involved in Iran's nuclear program. Iran's U.N. ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 were wounded.
Centre forms high-level panel for aviation accident guidelines
Following the Air India Boeing 787 crash in Ahmedabad, the Centre on Saturday announced the setting up of a high-level committee headed by the Home Secretary to suggest 'comprehensive guidelines' to respond to aviation accidents.
The order issued by the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation says the committee will 'focus on formulating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for preventing and handling such occurrences in the future'. The order states that it will not substitute other enquiries by relevant organisations, referring to the main accident probe conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, which recovered the black box on Friday.
The committee will publish its report within three months.
Apart from the Home Secretary, who will be the Chairperson, the high-level committee will include the Joint Secretary of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs; representatives of the State Home Department and the State Disaster Response Authority of Gujarat; the Ahmedabad Police Commissioner; the Director General of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security; the Director General of Civil Aviation; the Director General of Inspection and Safety, Indian Air Force; the Special Director, Intelligence Bureau; and the Director, Directorate of Forensic Science Services.
The four-point scope of the committee defined in the order states it will 'ascertain the root cause of the [Air India Boeing 787] crash' and its contributing factors, including mechanical failure, human error, weather conditions, and regulatory compliances. The committee will also recommend necessary improvements, and formulate suitable SOPs to prevent such incidents in the future, including best international practices.
The committee will also assess the emergency response by various stakeholders, including rescue operations and coordination among them, and suggest roles for various agencies and organisations to deal with post-crash incident handling and management.
The committee will also suggest policy changes, operational improvements, and training enhancements to prevent such occurrences, and to handle post-crash incident situations.
The committee will have access to all records, including flight data, cockpit voice recorders, aircraft maintenance records, air traffic control logs, and witness testimonies. It will conduct site inspections and interview crew, air traffic controllers, and relevant personnel. It will also collaborate with international agencies if foreign nationals or aircraft manufacturers are involved.
Four Maoists, including three women, killed in ongoing encounter in M.P's Balaghat
At least four Maoists, three of them women, have been killed in an ongoing encounter between security forces and Maoists in Madhya Pradesh's Balaghat district on Saturday, the police said.
Madhya Pradesh's anti-Maoists Hawk Force Commandant Shiyaz K.M. told The Hindu that the encounter was under way in the Pachamdadar and Katejhiriya areas of the Sonewani forest area. Shiyaz said a search operation was launched in multiple parts of the district's dense forest areas based on inputs from the Maoist movement.
'Combing efforts are going on in multiple areas and the encounter will continue at least till tomorrow,' he said, adding that heavy rains in the area had made the operation more challenging.
Shiyaz said the operatives belonged to the Malajkhand unit of the GRB (Gondia-Rajnandgaon-Balaghat) Division of the Maoists.
'We had received input of their movement a couple of days ago after which multiple parties were deployed for a search operation. During one such search, firing started from their side and our personnel responded,' the officer said.
The encounter is part of a joint operation by the Madhya Pradesh Police's Hawk Force and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), he said.
Special Director-General (Anti-Maoist Operations) Pankaj Shrivastav told The Hindu that the four cadres were killed in two separate encounters and that a self-loading rifle (SLR), two .315 rifles, a grenade launcher and other ammunition were recovered from them.
'We cannot divulge much information, as it is an ongoing operation. The forces and officers are currently in the forest. It has also been raining heavily there today, which is adding to the challenge but we are continuing the search operation. The encounter is likely to continue till tomorrow,' he said.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav congratulated the security forces and dubbed the encounter as a major success for the campaign to end Maoism by March 2026, a deadline set by the Union Government.
'Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and Union Home Minister Amit Shah ji, the State has achieved a major success in the campaign to eradicate Maoism by March 2026,' he said on X.
'The search is still on, in which a large number of police officers and personnel are engaged. Hearty congratulations to our indomitable soldiers and senior police officers of the State for this success,' CM Yadav said.
In brief:
J&K L-G reopens 16 tourist destinations closed after Pahalgam attack
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday reopened 16 of 48 destinations that had been closed in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 civilians dead on April 22, 2025. He also announced that this would be followed by the phased reopening of the remaining tourist spots. Of the 16 spots, eight were from the Jammu region and eight from the Kashmir region. In the Jammu division, the spots selected were Sarthal, Baggar, Devi Pindi, Sehar Baba Waterfall, Sulha Park, Gul Danda, Jai Valley and Panchari.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.