Grief and anger as remains of victims killed in flight disaster are slowly returned

As anguished families wait for the handover of their loved ones' remains, tensions are mounting over the slow pace of DNA identification, reports Namita Singh from Ahmedabad

- Namita Singh

More than 72 hours after India's deadliest aviation tragedy in recent memory, Rohit Patel - a father mourning the loss of his two children - stood trembling before a room of Indian health and investigative officials in Ahmedabad and demanded answers.

"When will the bodies be given?" he asked, breaking down in front of television cameras and senior officers. His son Harshit and daughter-in-law Pooja Patel were among the 242 passengers and crew aboard the Air India Express flight that crashed minutes after take-off on Thursday.

Dr Rajnish Patel, additional medical superintendent of the city's Civil Hospital, attempted to pacify the grief-stricken father. "You will receive a call," he said. "Please come to the hospital only after that."

But the father pressed on: "How long can this process go on?"

Dr Patel explained the excruciating slowness of the DNA identification process due to the condition of the bodies. "Routinely, it takes three to four days," he said. "This situation is very critical. Please wait patiently. The body will be handed over properly."

As of yesterday evening, 22 bodies had been identified and returned to their families. DNA samples had been matched in 47 cases, although officials clarified that this does not mean 47 individuals - some remains belong to the same victims, painstakingly reconstructed before they could be laid to rest. "We have to honour the dead," a senior official said.

The process, officials added, is harrowing: fragments of bodies must be accurately identified, matched with DNA samples, and carefully stitched together to be placed in a single coffin.