Ahmedabad plane crash: 259 victims identified, 256 bodies handed over to kin

Ahmedabad, Jun 23 (PTI) Eleven days after the devastating Air India plane crash, officials have confirmed the identity of 259 victims, including 199 Indians and 60 nationals of UK, Portugal, and Canada, while 256 bodies have been handed over to their families.

The process to send three bodies of British nationals by flight is underway, the Ahmedabad civil hospital stated in a release.

Authorities are conducting DNA tests to establish the identity of the victims as many bodies were charred beyond recognition or damaged.

The 259 victims included 199 Indians (180 passengers and 19 ground victims), seven Portuguese nationals, 52 British nationals and a Canadian, the release said.

The 253 of the 259 victims were identified by matching of DNA while the identities of the rest six were confirmed through facial features.

Among the 253 individuals identified so far through DNA tests, 240 were passengers on board the Boeing dreamliner and 13 were non-passengers who were killed on the ground following the plane crash.

The hospital stated that bodies of 19 non-passenger individuals had been handed over to their kin. 13 of these victims were identified through DNA reports and six by face identification.

Indian victims identified so far belonged to various parts of the country, including Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Diu and Nagaland. PTI PJT PD NSK