Ahmedabad: A total of 247 victims of the horrific June 12 Ahmedabad plane crash have been identified through DNA tests so far and 232 bodies have been handed over to their families, officials said on Saturday.
The authorities have asked the families of eight victims to submit the DNA samples of another relative as the previous ones failed to match, they said.
Police said the matching of DNA samples confirmed that Ahmedabad-based filmmaker Mahesh Jirawala, who was reported missing following the crash, died in the catastrophe. His mortal remains were handed over to his family.
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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 aircraft crashed into a hostel complex in Meghaninagar moments after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1.39 pm that day, killing 270 persons, including 241 on board. One passenger survived.
Authorities are carrying out DNA tests to establish the identity of the victims as many bodies were charred beyond recognition as the aircraft burst into flames or damaged on impact.
“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. The process is continuing,” Ahmedabad Civil Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Rakesh Joshi said.
The 247 victims who have been identified comprise 187 Indians, 52 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and a Canadian, he said.
Of the 187 Indians, a total of 175 were on board the ill-fated aircraft, he said, adding they belong to areas in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Diu and Nagaland.
The state government had earlier stated that samples of 250 victims, including persons on board the ill-fated flight as well as those killed on the ground, were collected for identification.
The families of eight victims have been asked to give a sample of another relative for DNA tests after the first one did not match, Joshi said.
“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 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.
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 as a result of the plane crash.
Jirawala, 34, was passing by from the area on his two-wheeler just when the London-bound plane plunged into the hostel complex, an official 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.
Soon after the crash, the mobile phone of Jirawala, a resident of Naroda locality in Ahmedabad, got switched off and he never returned home as he had promised to his wife Hetal.
Talking to reporters, she said her husband, who was also known as Mahesh Kalavadiya, was a filmmaker and used to direct music albums.
In Badlapur, the mortal remains of crew member Pathak were consigned to flames at a crematorium in the presence of thousands of mourners.
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.
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.
Irfan’s mother is in shock and is yet to come to terms with the death of her son, a relative said.
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