9 hours ago
DNA testing identifies 247 Air India crash victims
Indian authorities have identified 247 victims of the 12 June Ahmedabad plane crash through DNA testing and returned 232 bodies to their families so far.
Families of eight other victims have been asked to provide DNA samples from additional relatives after initial tests failed to match.
The crash of the Air India flight, which occurred shortly after takeoff from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel international airport in the western state of Gujarat, killed 270 people, including 241 passengers and crew onboard the Boeing Dreamliner plane. The sole survivor from the flight was a British passenger who escaped with minor injuries.
'Till Saturday evening, 247 DNA samples have matched. Relatives of these deceased were contacted. So far, mortal remains of 232 victims have been handed over to families,' Ahmedabad Civil Hospital Medical superintendent, Dr Rakesh Joshi, said. 'The process is continuing.'
As many as 187 of the identified victims were Indian nationals, 52 British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian.
Dr Joshi said the families of eight victims had been asked to provide DNA samples from different relatives after their initial samples failed to match.
'Unless there is a match, bodies cannot be handed over to the kin. When there is no match for a longer period of time, then you can ask for another sample from another relative. If one sibling has given the sample, then a sample of another sibling is sought for matching the DNA with that of the victim,' he said.
'We generally prefer a sample of father or son or daughter. If not, then we take a sample of another available member,' he added.
In its continuing response to the deadly crash, Air India announced on Sunday that it was temporarily cutting less than 5 per cent of its narrow-body jet routes to improve operational stability.
The airline will suspend two daily flights to Singapore and cut 19 domestic routes until 15 July. This is the second such cut in the wake of the accident. On 18 June, the airline said it was reducing wide-body international operations by 15 per cent due to safety inspections and operational issues.
Bookings for Air India flights have reportedly dropped by up to 20 per cent since the tragedy. This decline in demand in turn has led to an 8 to 15 per cent reduction in airfares across domestic and international routes.
In a statement last week, Air India said passenger safety remained its top priority, to which end it was working with external security advisors and would take additional measures if necessary to ensure safe and secure operations.
