Ahmedabad plane crash: Ranjitha's body identified

NEARLY two weeks after the tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that claimed 241 lives, a grieving family in the quiet village of Pullad is finally on the verge of closure.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @P'Thitta

The DNA identity of Ranjitha Gopakumaran Nair, a 39-year-old nurse who lost her life in the crash, has been matched with her mother Thulasi. Her family is now preparing for her last rites on Tuesday.

According to family sources, her mortal remains will arrive at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport on Tuesday morning. From there the body will be taken to her hometown Pullad.

At her ancestral home, Thulasi clutches her daughter's photograph - a cherished memory of the youngest member of her family, whose dreams and aspirations were abruptly cut short.

DNA confirmation brings the first glimmer of relief for a family devastated by the tragedy.

A painful wait and farewell Ranjitha was among the victims of the ill-fated flight from Ahmedabad to London on June 12. Due to the severe burns sustained by passengers, DNA testing was the only reliable method to identify her remains. While her brother, Ratheesh G Nair, initially provided a DNA sample, it did not match.