Authorities start handing over remains of Air India crash victims to relatives
Authorities have started handing over remains of the victims of one of India's worst aviation disasters after identifying some through DNA tests, days after the Air India flight crashed and killed at least 270 people in Gujarat state, officials said.
The Gatwick-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after take-off on Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground.
One passenger survived.
Relatives grieve as they attend the funeral of Shubh Modi and his sister Shagun Modi, both victims of the Air India plane crash, at a crematorium in Ahmedabad, India (Rafiq Maqbool/AP)
Hundreds of relatives of the crash victims provided DNA samples at hospital.
Most of the bodies were charred or mutilated, making them unrecognisable.
Rajneesh Patel, an official at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, said authorities have so far identified 32 victims through DNA mapping and their families were informed.
He said the remains of 14 victims were handed over to relatives.
The victims' families waited outside the hospital mortuary as authorities worked to complete formalities and transfer the bodies in coffins into ambulances.
Most of them have expressed frustration at the slow pace of the identification process.
Authorities say it normally takes up to 72 hours to complete DNA matching and they are expediting the process.
Alongside the formal investigation, the Indian government has set up a high-level committee to examine the causes leading to the crash.
Investigators come out after visiting the Air India plane crash site in Ahmedabad, India (Ajit Solanki/AP)
The committee will focus on formulating procedures to prevent and handle aircraft emergencies in the future, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement on Saturday.
Authorities have also begun inspecting Air India's entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, minister of civil aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said on Saturday in New Delhi at his first news briefing since Thursday's crash.
Eight of the 34 Dreamliners in India have already undergone inspection, Mr Kinjarapu said, adding that the remaining aircraft will be examined with 'immediate urgency'.
Investigators on Friday recovered the plane's digital flight data recorder, or the black box, from a rooftop near the crash site.
The device is expected to reveal information about the engine and control settings, while the voice recorder will provide cockpit conversations, said Paul Fromme, a mechanical engineer with the UK-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
The plane that crashed was 12 years old.
Boeing planes have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft.
There are currently around 1,200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation, according to experts.
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Irish Examiner
9 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Air India Flight 182: Cork photographer recalls taking iconic image of 1985 bombing tragedy
One of the most poignant photographs ever printed on the front page of this publication was that of the lines of dead bodies in the temporary morgue set up in Cork for the victims of Air India flight 182. A bomb placed on board the flight by militants exploded off the Kerry/West Cork coast on June 23, 1985, with the plane plunging into the Atlantic. Forty years on, photographer Denis Minihane can still recall second by second the lead-up to snapping that iconic photograph, which also showed a group of medics gathered in the background of the image. Now retired after spending 47 years as a press photographer, the then 26-year-old snapper had been looking forward to a busy afternoon shooting sports photos in Thurles for two Munster hurling games. HISTORY HUB If you are interested in this article then no doubt you will enjoy exploring the various history collections and content in our history hub. Check it out HERE and happy reading But when news broke of the horror air disaster off the west Cork coast, Denis' day took a different turn. He was not to know it as he returned from Thurles to the offices of the Cork Examiner on Academy Street in Cork city centre but his image would become synonymous with the tragedy unfolding in the sea off West Cork. Denis's image from the temporary mortuary set up in the then Cork Regional Hospital was syndicated across the world, and was featured in the New York magazine, Life, which was very influential at the time. Former Irish Examiner photographer Denis Minihane's picture of the remains of victims from the Air India Flight 182 air disaster on June 23, 1985, in a temporary morgue at Cork Regional Hospital (now Cork University Hospital). The world exclusive photograph taken through a window was published in newspapers and magazines all over the world including LIFE magazine and won a news picture of the year award the following year. Photo: Denis Minihane Looking back, the Skibbereen-born photographer said: 'It was the most significant photograph I took in my career really. Sadly it was one of a disaster. Such is life.' Denis retired last year and recalls entering the photographic trade after seeing his father Michael work as a photographer with the then Cork Examiner. After his Leaving Certificate, Denis entered the dark room in the Cork Examiner in October 1976, not knowing that one of the most iconic images of Irish press photography history would his. He recalls: 'On the morning of the 23rd of June 1985, I was marked to go to Thurles to cover two Munster hurling championship games and the 11 o'clock news came on on RTÉ Radio 1 and it said that Air India flight 182 had gone down off the Irish coast. "So we came back to Cork and parked the car and came into the office and it was rather difficult to get into the photographic department because it was packed with photographers who had arrived in Cork from different countries around the world.' He says of himself that he was just a 'young fella' at the time, aged 26. Forty years on, photographer Denis Minihane can still recall second by second the lead-up to snapping that iconic photograph. Picture: Chani Anderson He continues: 'I went out and attended the press conference (at the Regional Hospital) and there was a huge gathering of photographers and camera crews at it. I managed, through enquiries, to find out where the remains of the people taken from the wreckage were being kept and it was a temporary morgue that was set up in the gymnasium. "I got as far as the door and I obviously was not able to get any further so I went around the back of the building and I could see that there was a very high window. "But it was just down to my level so I could just about see in and didn't know if I could get a photograph or not because there was a very high thick net curtain, full length, inside the window, down on to the window sill. "So I could barely see into the room. I was by the window for quite a while and it was getting late in the evening. It must have been 10.30pm, may be 10.30/11 o'clock at night and I saw someone coming towards the window with a ladder and I move, I step back around the side of the building. I thought I had been seen but obviously I hadn't because what it was was that somebody had gone up and opened the window to let some air in to the building. Seeing his chance, Denis decided to have another attempt at seeing into the mortuary and recalls: 'That's how I had a gap of maybe two inches to get the photograph through and I managed to get a few frames.' But even then, he didn't know if his attempt was successful, in a time when photography took more patience than today. He explains: 'In those days, you had to come back to the office and process so I didn't know whether I had a photograph or not and it was a nervous seven or eight minutes developing the film – an anxious wait. Anxious also because it was also an upsetting scene that I had seen. It was a poignant scene.' He recalls seeing the images develop and night editor Liam Moher writing the caption for his now famous image, which included the words 'world exclusive picture'. He says: 'I just didn't understand the significance of it I suppose. It was over my head. I had done what I had done because it was my job and he had asked me to go and do it but I didn't realise how significant the picture was going to be in the following days and years afterwards.' He is mindful of the pain and suffering of the families and friends of those who were lost in the Air India disaster. He continues: Looking back at the photograph now, it evokes memories of that awfully sad day and my heart still goes out to the families and friends of all those people who died so tragically in that awful disaster when the bomb exploded off the Irish coast. The flight was due to stop over in London's Heathrow before travelling to India for stops in Delhi and Mumbai. Passengers were primarily from Canada, but others on board came from India and Britain, as well as other countries. More than 80 of them were children. Two men accused of murder and conspiracy relating to the crash were found not guilty in March 2005. It was alleged that the bombing was plotted by Sikh extremists in Canada as revenge on India for its storming of Sikhism's Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984. Read More A selection of images chosen by the Irish Examiner picture desk
Irish Examiner
9 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
'We prepared for survivors': A Navy officer's memory of Air India Flight 182, 40 years on
Hundreds of people including relatives of those who died in the Air India disaster will attend the 40th anniversary commemoration for the 329 passengers and crew who were killed when a bomb exploded on the transatlantic flight off the coast of West Cork. The main commemoration will be held on Monday, June 23, in the village of Ahakista, the nearest point on land to where Air India flight 182 exploded, scattering bodies and debris into the Atlantic about 190km off the Irish coast. This commemoration will get under way at 8am and is expected to be attended by a number of senior Canadian and Indian diplomats, along with Irish politicians and members of the emergency services, some of whom who are now retired but were involved in the original search and recovery operation. The navy will be represented by its current commanding officer Commodore Michael Malone. The plane's wreckage being brought ashore. A memorial built in the West Cork coastal village was unveiled exactly one year after the 1985 disaster. Its centrepiece is a sundial on a rounded stone base. Created by Cork sculptor Ken Thompson, it is designed to capture the sun's rays at 8.13am, which is the exact time the Boeing 747-237B disappeared from radar. The flight was heading from Montreal for a stopover in London and then to Delhi. It was blown up in Irish airspace while at an altitude of 9,400m. Of those killed, the majority were of Indian descent. There were 280 Canadian citizens, 27 British and 22 Indian passport holders onboard, plus other nationalities. There were more than 80 children onboard. Initially, it was not known what the cause was, but it was quickly determined a bomb had been placed onboard. It was planted by Sikh separatists and was the world's deadliest act of aviation terrorism until the 9/11 Osama Bin Laden-led attacks on the US in 2001 killed more than 3,000. The jet's bombing remains the largest mass murder in modern Canadian history and the worst loss of life ever suffered by Air India. On June 13 of this year an Air India passenger plane bound for London crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, resulting in the tragic loss of 241 lives on board and at least 29 fatalities on the ground. The Indian Embassy in Ireland lauded the local community for it response to the 1985 disaster. It said: "The spirit with which the people of Ahakista and the nearby areas rose to the occasion in solidarity with the families of the victims is a saga but a story largely unknown. Apart from emergency assistance in identifying the bodies and locating and collecting the debris, they opened their hearts and homes to complete strangers and generously put them up in their hour of grief. They continue to do so to this day. The Naval Service mounted a major recovery operation, which was aided by the RAF, which sent in Sea King helicopters. In total, 131 bodies were recovered in what was the biggest off-shore search and recovery operation ever mounted by the Irish State. 'We prepared for survivors' Captain James Robinson, Officer Commander Naval Operations, aboard the le Eithne in 2000. It was coordinated by Lieutenant Commander James Robinson, who captained LÉ Aisling, which was one of five ships at the scene. At the time, Robinson's ship had been searching for Spanish trawlers fishing illegally off the Kerry coast when it picked up an alert at 8.52am from Valentia Radio, which said an aircraft had disappeared from radar screens and gave him the likely position of where the plane came down. He said initially they were not told what kind of aircraft was missing, but soon got the awful news it was an Air India Boeing 747 with 329 people on board. 'We prepared for an awful lot of survivors. Spare blankets and sheets were taken out of stores. The sick bay was prepared. Soup was put on the stove. We were going to spare no effort to save as many of those poor people as possible,' he said. LÉ Aisling arrived at the crash scene shortly after 11am. One large merchant ship, the Laurentian Forest, was in the vicinity while overhead a Royal Air Force Nimrod aircraft was circling the area dropping smoke floats to mark concentrations of wreckage. The senior navy officer decided on two objectives. The most important was to recover as many bodies as possible, and as quickly as possible. Robinson was lucky to have an experienced diving team onboard who went out on Gemini RIB (rigid inflatable boats) to gather as many bodies as they could. Though exhausted, the diving team refused to be replaced when Robinson ordered it. They launched 14 times during the day to recover the bodies. The bodies were wrapped in sheets and stowed below decks. The engineers' office and the shipwright's workshop were designated as make-shift morgues. The first body recovered from the crash site arriving at Cork Airport. At the height of the search, Mr Robinson was controlling the movements of 19 ships, a British Nimrod and American Hercules which supplied over-head surveillance technology, and eight military helicopters supplied by the British and US. He also enlisted the help of Spanish trawlers in the area, after finding one crewman on a merchant ship in the area who could speak English and Spanish and he was detailed to relay messages to the trawlers. The merchant vessels also acted as landing pads for helicopters bringing back bodies and other rescue helicopters transported them to the mortuary at the then Cork Regional Hospital, now CUH. When night fell, Robinson released the ships and trawlers from the operation. 'Aisling was left alone in the midst of all that desolation. For the first time since it kicked off, I had time to reflect. I hoped that one day I would look the people who did this in the eye. "I then reflected on what had been achieved by the people under my command and I felt immensely proud but humbled. Most of the people on Aisling were under 25 and many just teenagers. They carried out everything I had asked of them without question,' he said. Robinson has not been to the commemoration for some years but will be attending on Monday where he will lay a wreath alongside several of his former shipmates. 'The families of those who died are getting older so it could be the last big commemoration,' he said. Local school children will form a choir at the ceremony, which is being organised by Cork County Council. A number of locals helped to recover vital pieces of wreckage as well, especially those living by the shore. One was James O'Mahony. At the time he lived close to Trarurim Strand, which is about 10km west of Ahakista. 'People living by the shore would find bits and pieces [of the plane's wreckage] and hand it over the council who would pass it on to the relevant authorities,' Mr O'Mahony said. Mr O'Mahony has since moved to just 1km from the Ahakista memorial and will attend the commemoration this year because it's the 40th anniversary. He has been to a number of them before and met some of the relatives of those who lost their lives, mainly from India. Most of the victims were Hindus and lived in Ontario. The second ceremony of the day will take place at St Michael's Cemetery in the Cork suburb of Blackrock, where two of the victims are buried. Anna Maria Alexander and her daughter, Rena, were both laid to rest in a single grave there. They are the only victims buried in this country as all the other bodies recovered after the plane went down were taken to be buried in their respective home countries by relatives. Finbarr Archer, who has driven lord mayors of Cork for many years, has looked after their graves for the past 40 years. Well-known Cork figure, Finbarr Archer. In June 1985, Finbar was working as an undertaker when he was stationed at the makeshift morgue in Cork following the Air India Flight 182 disaster. In the aftermath, he personally arranged the burial of two unclaimed victims and has continued to tend their graves at St. Michael's Cemetery in Blackrock ever since. Picture Chani Anderson He worked as an undertaker's assistant at the time of the disaster, documenting the names of the dead and helping out at a makeshift mortuary. Mr Archer said that Ann Marie Alexander's husband and a son were also on the flight, but their bodies were never recovered. 'The mother and daughter's bodies were never claimed. We believe that's probably because they didn't have any relatives left,' he said. So, he took it upon himself to tend to their graves ever since and is organising the commemoration at St Michael's Cemetery. 'We will be having local school children playing music on the day and there will be representatives from the fire service and gardaí in attendance. We will also have some of the guards and firemen who were involved in the aftermath of the recovery operations. We'll also have a colour party of UN veterans who'll parade with the Irish Tricolour and Indian and Canadian national flags,' Finbarr said. The ceremony is open to the public and will get under way at about midday. Meanwhile, the navy has revealed as a mark of respect to those lost it has commissioned a commemorative plaque which will be unveiled at Haulbowline naval base during a special ceremony later this summer. Among those invited to the unveiling will be the crewmembers who served proudly on board LE Aisling at the time of the tragedy and as a recognition the navy intends to present them with a commemorative military coin. Read More It is a miracle, says lone survivor of Air India plane crash
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Kneecap's Dublin fans have their say
Sarda IN is a voluntary group in Northern Ireland that provides dogs for search and rescue, as well as for cadaver searches across Ireland. Video: Alan Betson
