Ahmedabad plane crash: Nine days on, process to ascertain identity of victims continues

Nine days after the Ahmedabad plane crash, the process to identify several victims is still underway as the authorities have asked eight families to submit the DNA sample of another relative as the previous ones failed to match.

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Ahmedabad-based filmmaker Mahesh Jirawala, who was reported missing following the June 12 air crash, the matching of DNA samples confirmed that he died in the catastrophe, following which his mortal remains were handed over to his family.

In Maharashtra, relatives and friends gave an emotional farewell to Deepak Pathak and Irfan Shaikh - two crew members of the ill-fated flight — at Badlapur in Thane district and in Pimpri-Chinchwad near Pune city respectively.

The London-bound Air India flight AI-171 carrying 242 passengers and crew members crashed in Ahmedabad moments after it off from the city airport last Thursday, killing all but one on board, and 29 on the ground as the aircraft smashed into a medical complex in the Meghaninagar area.

Since many of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition or damaged otherwise, authorities are carrying out DNA tests to establish the identity of victims of the horrific tragedy.

Until Friday, DNA samples of 231 deceased have been matched and 210 bodies handed over to families.

However, families of eight victims have been asked to give a sample of another relative for DNA tests after the first one did not match, an official said.

“Unless there is a match, bodies cannot be handed over to the kin,” Ahmedabad Civil Hospital’s medical superintendent Rakesh Joshi said.

“When there is no match for a longer period of time, then you can ask 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/daughter. If not, then we take a sample of another available member,” Joshi added.

He, however, clarified that samples of siblings have matched in the process.

There are at least eight such families whose first sample has not matched, so another sample was sought.

On Friday, Joshi had said since the DNA matching process is highly sensitive and involves legal protocols, it is being conducted with utmost seriousness and speed.

To ensure that families receive the bodies of their loved ones quickly, Forensic Science University, along with associated institutions, local administrative authorities, the state government’s health and other departments, and various agencies are working tirelessly.

Meanwhile, police said through the matching of DNA samples it has been confirmed that filmmaker Jirawala has died in the plane crash.

Jirawala, 34, was passing by from the area on his two-wheeler just when the London-bound plane plunged into a hostel complex, he said.

Joint Commissioner of Police, Sector 2, Jaipalsinh Rathore said the DNA test confirmed that Jirawala died as a result of the plane crash, but as his family members were still in disbelief, the police collected and presented other evidence, such as CCTV footage of the road and his burnt scooter, in order to clear their doubts from their mind and convince them.

“Jirawala’s family took his body on Friday after the DNA test confirmed his identity. His scooter, which was destroyed in the fire, was also recovered from near the crash site. The chassis and engine number also matched with the registration documents of the scooter,” he said.

“To clear his family’s doubts, we collected CCTV footage of that area to establish that he was indeed using that route for some time. His last mobile location was last traced close to the accident site,” the officer added.

The body of Pathak (34), who had been serving the national carrier for the past 11 years, was handed over to his family members after a nine-day-long identification process, confirmed through DNA testing.

Family, friends, neighbours, and people from all walks of life walked behind the flower-bedecked truck carrying Pathak’s coffin to the crematorium.

Pimpri Chinchwad-based Shaikh family had received 22-year-old Irfan’s remains after a DNA match on Friday, and they were brought to Pune in the early hours. His last rites were held at a graveyard in Nehru Nagar in the presence of family, neighbours, friends, and leaders from across political parties.