Air India Plane Crash: Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi on Saturday provided latest updates on the identification of the Air India plane crash victims, saying that 19 DNA samples have matched as of 9 pm on the day.
In a statement on X, the Gujarat minister shared the “Update as of 9:00 PM”.
He said that the authorities were confirming identities of other victims.
“DNA Matching Progress: 19 DNA samples have been matched so far, confirming the identities of victims,” Sanghavi wrote.
As part of the ongoing efforts, forensic teams are working through the night to match more DNA samples, the minister said.
“Ongoing Efforts: State Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) unit team and National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) team are working through the night to match more DNA samples,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Ahmedabad Civil Hospital authorities said they had identified 11 victims of the Air India plane crash as their DNA samples matched.
“DNAs of 11 victims of Ahmedabad plane crash have matched with kin so far,” Dr Rajnish Patel, professor of surgery at the government-run B J Medical College, said in a press briefing.
The civil hospital will contact the families as soon as a DNA match is found, and they should not rush to the hospital, he added.
Mortal remains of Air India plane crash victims being handed over to families
The mortal remains of one plane crash victim were handed over to the family on Saturday while those of another two victims will be handed over by the day’s end, Patel said.
The bodies of eight victims, who were identified by their relatives and did not need DNA profiling, have already been handed over to their families by the hospital, officials had said earlier.
As many as 230 teams were formed to coordinate with the families and the kin of 11 foreign nationals who died in the tragedy too have been contacted, Alok Pandey, Relief Commissioner and Revenue Secretary of Gujarat, said.
The deceased from the state hailed from 18 of the 33 districts, the Gujarat official added.
As many of the bodies are burnt beyond recognition or damaged otherwise, authorities are carrying out DNA tests to establish the identity of the Air India plane crash victims.