Uncle of couple who died in Air India plane crash questions delay in handover of bodies

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The uncle of Harshit and his wife Pooja, who died in the plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, raised questions over the delay in handover of bodies of the victims during a press conference on Sunday.Rohit Patel told The Indian Express that he was looking for a pharmacy when he saw a huge crowd at the entrance of Ahmedabad’s 1,200-bed hospital on the opposite side of the Mortuary Complex at Medicity, and he could not help but ask questions regarding the “delay” as three days had passed since Air India flight AI 171 crashed in Meghaninagar area of Ahmedabad shortly after take-off on June 12.Patel said his family members, who are from Kapadvanj but live in Nadiad city of Kheda, stayed back in Ahmedabad since the day of the crash, hoping to claim the bodies of Harshit and Pooja, who lived in the UK.The couple had come to Ahmedabad earlier this month for a medical procedure and were on their way back to the UK when their flight crashed.Patel raised the question in front of a panel of Relief Commissioner Alok Pandey, Additional Medical Superintendent Dr Rajnish Patel and Additional Commissioner (Addl.CP) for Sector-2 of Ahmedabad City Police Jaypalsingh Rathore. He said he found a little gap behind the table, near which the officials, were seated and utilised it to ask as to how long the family had to wait to get the bodies of the young couple.Answering his question, Dr Rajnish said, “Please come here only after you get a phone call. We (doctors) and the FSL are trying to do (finish procedure) as fast as possible, but please understand there are a lot of sample. Checking each (sample) carefully takes a lot of time — usually three-four days. In this situation, it is very difficult to manage. You please stay at home. We will call you and handhold you through the entire procedure.”Speaking to The Indian Express after the press conference, the uncle said, “My brother Anil Patel and our entire family is distraught. They had said they would hand over the bodies today (Sunday), but now they are saying it will take more time. There are a lot of processes to be completed even after taking possession of the body.”Story continues below this adNotably, while one of the two bodies of the family has been identified, there is no confirmation about another. Patel said that they want to take both the bodies home, together.During a press conference on Sunday evening, Relief Commissioner Pandey said, “We have managed to get in touch with all the 230 families of the passengers aboard the aircraft. Relatives of three of the deceased passengers are arriving in Ahmedabad tomorrow (June 16).”However, he did not confirm if the families of the 12 crew members had been contacted.Notably, the body one air hostesses was only retrieved from the tail section of the aircraft on June 14 — almost 48 hours after the crash.Story continues below this adDr Rajnish said that till 5.30 pm on Sunday, a total of 47 DNA matches had been confirmed and 44 of the relatives were contacted and asked to come to receive the bodies of the deceased.Further, a total of 24 bodies had been effectively handed over to families.However, by, 11 pm, the situation had changed.In a video, Dr Rajnish said, “A total of 80 DNA samples were matched. A total of 33 bodies have been handed over to the families, and two more will receive bodies later in the night; and 13 more will be handed over (to families) on June 16 (Monday) morning. Further, 21 more families will arrive to take the bodies.”Dr Rajnish further said, “Eleven families have lost more than one person. They are awaiting the DNA results of all family members before taking them.”Story continues below this adOf the deceased whose bodies had been handed over, 12 are from Ahmedabad, 5 from Vadodara, Mehsana (4), Anand (4), Bharuch (2), Kheda (2), Botad (1) and Aravalli (1). Further, onebody each belonged to families from Udaipur and Jaipur in Rajasthan.According to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), 33 families had been handed over death certificates of deceased.During the press conference earlier in the day, Pandey had said that teams from the treasury department were working on inquest reports and insurance claims and trying to sort matters with the deceased’s families as soon as possible. Pandey also said that relatives who had submitted DNA samples should ideally come to receive the bodies of the victims, adding that if that is not possible, then another relative must show proof of relationship (with victim) to claim the bodies, once identified.Pandey and Dr Rajnish said that they could not confirm the final death toll of the crash before the DNA tests for all victims were completed.Story continues below this adOf the 51 injured people who had been admitted to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, 13 were under treatment on Sunday.