Air India crash: Grief turns into anger as families continue agonising wait for bodies

Officials inspect the remains of the Air India passenger plane at the crash site near Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad on June 14. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
- Anger has been mounting among family members of passengers on board the ill-fated Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad as they face an agonising wait for the bodies of their loved ones.
All but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board were killed in the June 12 crash, with an additional unconfirmed number of fatalities feared on the ground. Flight AI171, operated with a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, had rammed into a hostel mess at the western Indian city's Byramjee Jeejeebhoy (BJ) Medical College and Civil Hospital, erupting into a large ball of fire.
Dr Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors' Association at the BJ Medical College, told reporters on June 14 that 270 bodies had been recovered from the crash site, with more bodies potentially still stuck under rubble.
Thirty-two injured persons from the site have also been admitted to Civil Hospital.
Only eight bodies – those that were identified visually – have been handed over to family members, with the rest to be released after DNA matches, which doctors said could take up to 72 hours.
But the patience of family members is wearing thin, with grief beginning to give way to rage as some question the agonising wait marked by a lack of official and regular communication from the authorities to the victims' families and media.
Mumbai resident Rafiq Abdul Aziz Memon, whose nephew was on the flight with his wife and two children, said his relatives had already turned in their DNA samples but he had yet to receive any clear information on the state of the bodies of his loved ones.
Mumbai resident Rafiq Abdul Aziz Memon, whose nephew was on board the flight with his wife and two children, said he is worried about the condition of their bodies currently in storage at the mortuary in Civil Hospital.
ST PHOTO: DEBARSHI DASGUPTA
'In two days, all I have been hearing is 72 hours, 72 hours. When will these 72 hours end, nobody knows. They will then bring up some other excuse after 72 hours,' an angry and distressed Mr Memon told reporters outside the BJ Medical College. 'Stop this DNA game… We want to see them (the bodies) in whatever condition they are in, we can stomach it. They were our children.'
Fearing that the bodies may have already started decomposing, he demanded that the local authorities release a video to prove that the bodies are safe. 'Four days later if you give us something that stinks, will our heart be able to bear it?... Tell us that the bodies of our loved ones are safe, that they are not decomposing.'
Dr Rakesh S. Joshi, Medical Superintendent of Civil Hospital, where the bodies have been stored in a mortuary, told The Straits Times that matching the DNA samples from victims' bodies with those from their family members is taking longer than usual because many of the bodies were badly burnt and mutilated.
In such cases, intact DNA has to be extracted from hard remains such as bones or teeth.
'It (also) takes time for all relatives to come from a different place other than the local city,' he said, noting that his team had the DNA collection process set up in three to four hours after the crash and are working '24/7' to conclude it.
Dr Joshi added that positive matches have already begun coming in. The first reportedly DNA-matched body was later released by the hospital late on the afternoon of June 14, with media access to the mortuary cut off.
A sitting area for relatives of passengers killed in the Air India AI171 crash at Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad. Family members of victims have complained about the lack of support and information for them.
ST PHOTO: DEBARSHI DASGUPTA
Also present at the Civil Hospital on June 14 was Mr Anil Kumar Patel, 58, who works as a security supervisor in Ahmedabad. His 30-year-old son, who worked for Amazon in London, was here with his wife for her medical treatment and both were killed in the crash.
Mr Patel said he had so far not received any help from Air India or the Ahmedabad district administration following the tragedy. 'No one has called, nothing,' he said.
Family members of victims have criticised the way they have been dealt with by the authorities since the tragedy, as they are often left to fend for themselves, with little or no information going their way.
Mr Anil Kumar Patel, 58, waiting outside the post-mortem room at Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad. His son and daughter-in-law, both 30, were killed in the crash.
ST PHOTO: DEBARSHI DASGUPTA
Mr Patel was seated next to the post-mortem room, where a small open area with a makeshift marquee and a broken bench had been designated for relatives of victims of the crash. He has spent most of the past two days waiting at the Civil Hospital for some news, despite the humid oppressive heat in Ahmedabad.
Asked why he continues to be here, he said, breaking down: 'Just so that I can get both their dead bodies. What else can I expect?'
Some help may be finally on its way. The Ahmedabad district administration released a list of 39 victims who were residents of areas under its jurisdiction on the night of June 13 . Each family has been assigned an official who has been asked to help family members, from the process of DNA collection to funeral rites.
On that list, the fourth and 38th names were that of Mr Patel's daughter-in-law Pooja Harshit Patel and his son Harshit Patel. 'I just hope we get their bodies soon,' he said.
Debarshi Dasgupta is The Straits Times' India correspondent covering the country and other parts of South Asia.
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