As the authorities have started handing over the remains of those killed in Thursday’s Air India accident in Ahmedabad, all identities will not require DNA testing, Dr. Dr., Head of Forensic Medicine Department at AIIMS, New Delhi. Sudhir Gupta told the Indian Express.
Gupta, who has worked on several large-scale casualties incidents-include a collision of mid-1996 near Charkhi Dadri, who killed all 349 people on aircraft and 1997 Aphar cinema fire tragedy, both which included the identity of holy bodies-when they are a verified list of travelers, they are possible.
He said, “In such cases, usually a photographic chart, with the details of the passengers and their seat numbers, all this is all well documented. While people have changed the seats and many people will have been ignored, it is still possible to identify the person using bone records alone,” he told this newspaper.
What can reveal bones and teeth
Dr. Gupta said that even when the bodies are mesmerized, bones are often intact. Simple ex-rays of wrist, hand or pubic bone can help determine age, penis and height. He said, “About 30% of the bodies in such incidents can be completely burnt, but the teeth are harmful and are likely to avoid an air accident. A person can be identified on the basis of whether they had filler, capping or implants,” he said.
In many cases faster than DNA
He explained that physical features allow for sharp identity compared to DNA testing. “We do not want families who are already mourning to wait longer than necessary. DNA is used only in cases where there is doubt – or in landscapes like fire construction where we do not know who was present,” Dr. Gupta said.
However, he said that for dignity, officials can still choose the option of DNA matching in all cases, especially when the bodies are decomposed. He said, “In aviation accidents, especially in the collision of mid-hwa, full bodies are often not recovered. Whatever is recovered is handed over to the family for the funeral, as well as with a death certificate,” he said.
DNA matching is going on in Ahmedabad
As mentioned by Gupta, DNA profiles are running only to detect the identity of bodies that were beyond recognition. For example, at least eight victims – whose body was not severely damaged – was visually identified by relatives and was already handed over.
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Till Saturday, on 12 June, 19 of the 241 passengers killed on AI 171 Dreamliner were confirmed by matching DNA samples.
Harsh Sanghvi, Minister of State for Ghar, said on X that till 9 pm on Saturday, 19 DNA samples have been matched, confirming the identity of the victims. He said, “The State Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) unit team and the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) team are working to match more DNA samples through the night,” he said in the post.
About 270 bodies were brought to the hospital from the accident site. London-Bound Air India flight crashed at a medical college hostel complex immediately after takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport, killing 241 out of 242. A passenger survived.
On Thursday night, Home Minister Amit Shah told reporters that there is intense heat “no chance to save life” from 1.25 lakh liters of jet fuel.
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