In the aftermath of one of India’s deadliest aviation tragedies, officials have commenced the process of returning the remains of crash victims to their families. The incident involved an Air India Boeing 787 that plummeted shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday, targeting a medical college dormitory in the city. The disaster resulted in the deaths of at least 270 individuals, including 241 onboard and 29 residents on the ground, while miraculously, one passenger survived.
DNA samples have been collected from hundreds of relatives who gathered at the hospital, hoping to identify their deceased loved ones, as most bodies were left charred beyond recognition. Rajneesh Patel, representing the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, confirmed that 32 victims had been positively identified through DNA analysis, enabling 14 families to claim the remains so far. While these efforts are underway, the families, keeping vigil outside the mortuary, expressed their dissatisfaction with the pace at which the identification process is progressing. Authorities aim to expedite DNA matching, which typically spans up to 72 hours, in response to these concerns.
The passengers on board included 169 Indian nationals, alongside 53 Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian, highlighting the international scope of this tragedy. Qasim Rashid Ahmed, a British citizen of Indian heritage aiding the relatives with food and lodging, noted that several victims from the UK had familial ties in Gujarat and had provided their DNA to facilitate the identification process.
Amid these developments, a high-level committee has been established by the Indian government to scrutinize the circumstances surrounding the crash. As detailed in a Ministry of Civil Aviation statement, the committee’s mission is to design procedures aimed at preventing and managing future aviation emergencies. Concurrently, all Boeing 787 Dreamliners in India are being subjected to rigorous inspections, according to Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu. Eight out of the 34 Dreamliners have already been checked, with the remaining aircraft scheduled for immediate review.
The investigation has also progressed with the recovery of the aircraft’s digital flight data recorder, colloquially known as the black box, which was found on a rooftop proximate to the crash location. This device is expected to offer critical insights into the flight’s engine and control settings, complemented by cockpit conversation data from the voice recorder, as noted by Paul Fromme, a mechanical engineer affiliated with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the UK. While the ill-fated aircraft had been in operation for 12 years, it’s worth noting that the 787 model has previously been marred by safety concerns. Despite the global existence of approximately 1,200 such planes, this incident marks the first fatal crash within 16 years of its service, as indicated by aviation experts.