Air India crash: 131 victims identified, DNA matching nears completion

DNA matching of 131 victims of the Air India crash that claimed at least 270 lives has been completed. Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi on Monday (Jun 16) revealed that DNA samples of 131 victims had been successfully matched. The mortal remains of 83 people have already been handed over to relatives, he added.

DNA matching almost done?

Reports suggest that the heart-wrenching task of identifying victims of the Air India Dreamliner crash is nearing completion.

The crash, which occurred on June 12 shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, has been labelled India’s worst single-aircraft tragedy in recent memory.

Speaking from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Gandhinagar, where teams from both FSL and the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) have been working non-stop, Sanghavi commended the round-the-clock efforts of scientists and police. "...For the last many days, FSL and NFSU teams are tirelessly working round the clock. Till 10:58 pm, 131 patients' DNA have been matched, and in some time, 6 more DNA certificates will be sent to the Civil Hospital..." he said.

The painstaking process, involving 54 forensic experts from across Gujarat — including laboratories in Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot and Ahmedabad — is expected to conclude by Tuesday evening or early Wednesday.

Dr Rakesh Joshi, superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, told reporters that the "DNA profiling all the victims will be completed by either Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning."

"We are trying our best to finish this process as soon as possible," he added.

The crash of Flight AI-171, a London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, killed 241 of the 242 onboard — including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani — and at least 30 more on the ground when the aircraft crashed into a hostel building. The lone survivor of the horrific tragedy remains critical.