India 'working with UK' after Air India crash victims' families say 'wrong bodies' received

Khaleej Times

23-07-2025

Two families in the UK of the Air India plane crash victims have claimed that the remains they have received are not of their kin. The Air India flight AI171 had 242 passengers on board when it crashed in the Indian city of Ahmedabad shortly after take off. Out of them, 52 were British nationals.
The bodies of 12 of them were repatriated to the UK after DNA sampling in India. However, a Daily Mail report claims that remains of some of the victims were wrongly identified before being flown home.
In response to the report, the Indian government said that it is "working closely with the UK side" after these issues were brought to its attention, according to ANI.
The Indian government said that in the wake of the crash, the authorities had carried out "identification of victims as per established protocols and technical requirement".
"All mortal remains were handled with utmost professionalism and with due regard for the dignity of the deceased. We are continuing to work with the UK authorities on addressing any concerns related to this issue," said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs.
In response to media queries regarding a report on the Air India crash, MEA Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says - "We have seen the report and have been working closely with the UK side from the moment these concerns and issues were brought to our attention. In the wake of� pic.twitter.com/Z9QQEyFSP3
— ANI (@ANI) July 23, 2025
The Daily Mail reported that the issue emerged when Inner West London coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox sought to verify the repatriated Britons' identities by matching their DNA with samples provided by the families.
Aviation lawyer James Healy-Pratt said that the remains of at least 12 have been repatriated. Though two instances of mistaken identity have so far come to light, there are fears that more such errors could have been made, the report said.