Vijay Rupani's body identified days after he died in Ahmedabad Air India crash

India Today

9 hours ago

The body of former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who was among the 241 passengers killed in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, was identified through DNA testing on Sunday.Rupani's DNA was matched at 11.10 am. His body was handed over to the family.Gujarat Health Minister Rishikesh Patel said that Rupani's cremation will take place in Rajkot and modalities were being worked out.advertisement
Meanwhile, authorities had identified 32 victims so far through DNA testing and the bodies of 14 were handed over to their families, an official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.The victims identified so far were from different places in Gujarat and Rajasthan, additional civil superintendent Dr Rajnish Patel told reporters."Thirty-two DNA samples have been matched till now, and 14 bodies have already been handed over to the respective families. The victims were from Udaipur, Vadodara, Kheda, Mehsana, Arvalli, Ahmedabad and Botad districts," Patel said.As many of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition or damaged otherwise, authorities were carrying out DNA tests to establish the identity of the victims of the tragedy.As many as 230 teams were formed to coordinate with the victims' families, officials earlier said.advertisementAs many as 270 people have died so far when the London-bound Air India Flight 171, which took off from the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday afternoon, crashed into a resident doctors' hostel of BJ Medical College after a few minutes.The plane carried 242 people, which included 230 passengers, 10 crew members and two pilots. The flight was headed to London's Gatwick airport. Rupani, who was on the flight as per his business class ticket, was en route to the British capital to meet her daughter.One passenger - an Indian-origin British national who was seated on 11A - miraculously survived the crash and was hospitalised with injuries. While 241 passengers on the flight died, 29 others on the ground were killed in the tragedy, pushing the death toll to 270.Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the crash site and met the injured at the hospital.The crash involving the Air India plane, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, marked the first fatal accident involving a 787 since its commercial debut in 2011.The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which investigates aircraft accidents and incidents, recovered the Air India plane's black box 28 hours after the tragedy, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu said on Friday.advertisementThe orange-coloured device that was located near the tail of a plane will help investigate the crash.Following the crash, all planes under the Boeing 787-8/9 fleet of Air India will undergo an enhanced safety inspection starting Sunday, the Civil Aviation Ministry has announced.Fuel, engine and hydraulic systems monitoring are among the advanced checks ordered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which will seek a report of the checks for review.(with inputs from PTI)Must Watch
IN THIS STORY#Vijay Rupani#Gujarat#Air India#Ahmedabad Plane Crash#Ahmedabad