Air India crash: Wrong bodies sent to grieving families in UK, report cites DNA tests

Multiple British families of Air India 171 crash have received wrong bodies, according to a report.

On June 12, the London-bound AI 171 flight crashed shortly after take-off in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad. Out of the 260 deceased, 52 were British nationals. Their remains were identified by genetic testing and dental records and transported to the United Kingdom.

The Daily Mail has now reported that the identification and transportation of bodies was botched up in multiple cases.

These errors came to light after Inner West London coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox sought to verify the remains of British nationals transported from India by matching their DNA with samples provided by the families, as per the newspaper.

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Multiple families receive wrong bodies, remains: Report

In at least two cases, families of deceased got wrong bodies and remains, according to The Mail.

In one case, relatives had to abandon funeral plans after they learnt that the coffin they received contained the wrong body.

In another case, remains of multiple persons were wrongly put together in a coffin and given to a family.

In the second case, the remains were separated and the family went ahead with the funerals with the remains that were identified with their relative.

The newspaper reported that there are fears that there could be more such cases where families could have been handed over wrong bodies or remains. It said that an enquiry was taking place in the matter and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was expected to raise the matter with Indian PM Narendra Modi, who embarked on a visit to the UK on Wednesday.

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After the publication of the story, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that it was working with British authorities in the matter.

“We have seen the report and have been working closely with the UK side from the moment these concerns and issues were brought to our attention. In the wake of the tragic crash, the concerned authorities had carried out identification of victims as per established protocols and technical requirements. All mortal remains were handled with utmost professionalism and with due regard for the dignity of the deceased. We are continuing to work with the UK authorities on addressing any concerns related to this issue,” MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

Victims’ families flag lack of transparency

The Mail reported that one relative criticised the “lack of transparency and oversight in the identification and handling of remains” and said that there were calls for a British-run ID unit to be flown in to Ahmedabad.

“Our loved ones were British citizens. They deserved better in life. They certainly deserved better in death,” the relative said.

The families told the newspaper that they did not see their deceased relatives, but had to rely entirely on the labelling provided by Indian authorities.

On their part, the Indian authorities took DNA samples and also referred to dental records to determine which body or remains belonged to whom.

“Nobody looked at the remains. We weren’t allowed to. They just said ’this is your mother or father’ and gave us a paper label with an ID number on it. We had to take their word for it. It’s horrific that this could have happened, but what could anyone do?” Altaf Taju from Blackburn, whose London-based parents were killed along with their son-on-law Altafhusen Patel, told the newspaper.