London: The repatriation process for the bodies of some of the British victims of the Air India crash that took place on June 12 this year has reportedly been bungled. The families of the victims received mortal remains of unknown persons, reported The Daily Mail.
Due to the alleged mix-up, relatives of one of the victims abandoned the funeral. In another case, mortal remains of two victims were placed in the same coffin, reported the UK media house.
The entire matter surfaced after Inner West London coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox reportedly sought to verify the identities of British victims by matching their DNA with samples provided by the families.
A high-level inquiry into the entire matter is currently underway. According to the report, UK Prime Minister is likely to raise the matter with PM Modi.
Allegations By British Victims' Families?
Meanwhile some victims were either cremated or buried in India, in, aviation lawyer James Healy-Pratt told The Mail. Healy-Pratt represents many of the British families. According to him, the remains of at least 12 have been repatriated.
"I've been sitting down in the homes of these lovely British families over the last month, and the first thing they want is their loved ones back," he told The Daily Mail.
"But some of them have got the wrong remains and they are clearly distraught over this. It has been going on for a couple of weeks (and) I think these families deserve an explanation," Healy-Pratt added.
The process for identification of the body began immediately after the deadly crash, claiming the lives of over 275 people, including 52 British nationals. The process was carried out by local authorities and the state disaster response force. They used sniffer dogs and other high-tech equipment to retrieve the mortal remains of the victims. The bodies were beyond recognition due to the 1,500 degrees Celsius heat generated at the time of the crash.
As per the report, relatives of the victims were asked to provide their DNA samples, while in some severe cases, dental records were used for identification.
Notably, Indian authorities claimed DNA tests had conformed the identities of all fatalities by June 28. The bodies were flown back to Britain by Air India.
How Tragedy Unfolded?
The London-bound Air India, AI 171, crashed on June 12 just seconds after take off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport in Ahmedabad. The plane crashed into the hostel of BJ Medical College campus and burst into a ball of fire as it was carrying a lot of fuel for the long-haul flight. Over 275, including the people on the ground, were killed in the crash.
At the time of the incident, there were 242 people onboard the plane, including 12 crew members. Only one passenger survived the crash. The survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, is a British national of Indian origin.
The flight was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, an experienced Line Training Captain with 8,200 flight hours, and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had logged 1,100 flight hours.
