Air India plane crash: Six days after tragedy, 'missing' woman and two-year-old granddaughter confirmed dead

Days after the tragic Air India AI-717 plane crash the suspense surrounding a 52-year-old 'missing' woman and her granddaughter ended after a DNA test confirmed they were among the deceased, PTI quoted her family as saying.

According to the report, Sarlaben Thakor has been employed as a cook at the mess at a medical hostel complex in Ahmedabad for the past 15 years. Sarlaben and two-year-old granddaughter Aadhya were handed over to their family members on Thursday at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital after a DNA test confirmed their death in the June 12 tragedy.

"After the DNA test, the bodies of my mother Sarlaben and daughter Aadhya were handed over to us on Thursday. With a heavy heart, we cremated them the same day," PTI quoted Ravi Thakor, son of the woman, as saying.

Ravi Thakor along with his family, including his deceased mother, and wife Lalita, for the past 15 years used to cook food for MBBS students at the hostel mess of BJ Medical College situated in Meghaninagar, where the tragedy struck in the afternoon more than a week ago.

Just before the AI-717 plane crash, Ravi and Lalita Thakor left the mess for Civil Hospital to deliver food tiffins for senior resident doctors, while Aadhya and Sarlaben remained at the mess, where MBBS students living in the hostel gather for meal.

"We left the mess at around 1 pm to deliver tiffins at the hospital. At around 1:40 pm, a plane suddenly smashed into the mess as well as the adjoining hostel building, and the entire area was engulfed in fire. When we reached the spot, my mother and daughter were missing while all other women working in the mess managed to come out," said Ravi Thakor.

Following the AI-717 crash, Ravi Thakor and his wife frantically searched for Sarlaben and Aadhya at every possible location, including all wards of Civil Hospital and even the post-mortem room, but failed to locate them.

Ravi's wife Lalita said they used to take along their son and daughter to the mess every day and leave them in custody of Sarladevi while going out to deliver tiffins at Civil Hospital. "My son was also in that building when the plane crashed. Luckily, he took cover inside the laundry shop of the hostel and then came out safely. After failing to locate my daughter and mother-in-law, we registered a missing persons' complaint and gave our DNA samples for matching with bodies," she said.

Doctors matched the DNA samples with the mortal remains of Sarlaben and Aadhya a week after the crash and handed them over to the grieving kin on Thursday after establishing their identity.

About AI-717 crash:

On 12 June, at 1.39 pm, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, with 242 persons on board crashed into the medical hostel complex in Meghaninagar moments after taking off for London from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.

In the accident, more than 270 persons, including passengers and crew members (241) and those on the ground (29), were killed, while subsequent fire, which engulfed the aircraft as well as hostel buildings killed more people.

With agency inputs.