Three days after the crash of Air India Flight 171, only 35 bodies had been handed over to relatives from an official death toll of 270. Medical officials reported that the intensity of the flames at the crash site has complicated the identification of passenger remains.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was carrying a full load of fuel for its nearly 10-hour flight from Ahmedabad, India, to Gatwick Airport near London when it crashed on Thursday. Senior health officials indicated that temperatures at the crash site reached approximately 1,500 degrees Celsius, or 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit, sufficient to incinerate bodies.
H.P. Sanghvi, the director of the forensic lab overseeing DNA sampling, cited the difficult conditions for collecting and testing remains due to the high temperatures. He noted that the extreme heat impacts the DNA in the bodies, complicating the identification process.
As of Sunday evening, a total of 35 bodies had been returned to families, while the search continues for over 200 additional victims. Eight bodies, primarily from victims at the medical school campus where the crash occurred, were identified and released on Friday; others began to be handed over to relatives starting Saturday evening.
Among the identified victims is Vijay Rupani, a former Gujarat chief minister. Rajnish Patel, an official at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, explained the extensive work necessary to compare hundreds of DNA samples from relatives with remains at the mortuary.
Due to the state of the remains, families have been allowed to collect bodies only under tight security, with restrictions on opening coffins and pressure to proceed with cremations and burials promptly.
Among the passengers, only one individual survived, while relatives of the deceased remain in a state of uncertainty at the mortuary. Ravi Thakur, who is searching for his missing mother and two-year-old daughter, described his efforts to locate them and the emotional toll it has taken on him.
Additionally, families of ground victims are facing their own challenges, as many are listed as missing. The Patni family, who operated a tea stall at the medical campus, is also searching for 14-year-old Akash, whose mother is currently receiving treatment for injuries sustained in the crash.
Kajal and Kalpesh, Akash's siblings, continue to wait outside the mortuary, expressing their distress and the emotional turmoil of their situation.