Air India plane crash: DNA testing chaos mounts after 2 heads found in one body bag; Airline issues statement

Air India Plane Crash: Forensic teams involved in the process of victim identification were challenged with the task of repeating a 72-hour-long DNA testing procedure after two heads of two victims were found together in a single body bag, following the deadly plane crash in Ahmedabad that killed 241 people.

“This will require the DNA sampling process to be repeated as the parts belong to two victims and shouldn’t be in the same bag,” a senior official at Ahmedabad's Civil Hospital told TOI.

Earlier today, an official said that authorities so far have identified 32 victims through DNA testing and bodies of 14 have been handed over to their families, reported PTI.

Over 400 family members reach Ahmedabad; Air India assigns one care-giver to each family

Air India on Sunday, issued a statement that over 400 family members have reached Ahmedabad, with each family being assigned one care-giver by the Tata Group owned airline.

In its statement, the airline added that it remains in mourning on the tragic loss of 241 passengers and crew members aboard flight AI171.

On Thursday, June 12, which Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran called the “darkest day in Tata Group's history,” the ill fated AI-171 plane ended in the death of all but one of the 242 people aboard.

With the identification of the remaining bodies still underway, grieving relatives clung onto hopes that authorities will be able to retrieve all the parts of the bodies of their cherished ones.

‘Hard to convince him’

On Saturday, a man was seen pleading with officials to hand over the complete remains of his family members for their last rites. However, he was told that this was unlikely.

“It was hard to convince him,” the official told TOI.

Why is complete retrieval not possible?

The official also added that due to the severely charred condition of the bodies, it is not possible to guarantee the recovery of all body parts, reported TOI.

The person added that a standard clinical protocol is being followed, which involves placing the remains in body bags, transferring them to cold storage, conducting thorough forensic analysis, and eventually handing over the identified remains to the families in coffins.