My mind is just not ready to accept it

Families of Air India crash victims grapple with loss, grief and shock

- Debarshi Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD - An agonising wait for family members of passengers aboard the ill-fated Air India Flight AI171 continues on the sprawling campus of the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, a day after the plane headed for London crashed in this western Indian city.

All but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board were killed, with an additional unconfirmed number of fatalities feared on the ground. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had rammed into a hostel mess for doctors studying and working at the city's Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College and Civil Hospital.

Family and relatives have been trickling in from various parts of Gujarat, as well as outside the state, to submit their DNA samples, to help identify bodies. It is a process that officials expect could take anywhere up to 72 hours.

A large examination hall with wooden benches at the medical college serves as the round-the-clock impromptu DNA collection centre. Among those there at 3am on June 13 was Mr Imtiyaz Ali Syed, 42, who had driven nearly nine hours from Mumbai.

He hit the road right after he learnt of the crash, as the airport at Ahmedabad was shut for around two hours after the tragedy. His brother Javed Ali Syed, his wife and their two young children - all British nationals - were flying home after spending Eid with their ageing mother, who has not been told about the tragedy because of her fragile heart condition.

"Even my mind is just not ready to accept it," he told The Straits Times. "But I have to accept it today or tomorrow or the day after. We have to accept it," he added.

He appeared composed in media interviews before breaking down outside in the arms of friends who had accompanied him. Others just could not hold back their tears when speaking to the media.