Officials investigating the crash on Sunday confirmed that the Cockpit Voice Recorder black box has been found.
Ahmedabad, Gujarat: Days after the devastating crash of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad, confusion persists over the final death toll and identities of the victims, even as officials confirm at least 270 bodies have been recovered.
The ill-fated Boeing aircraft, which had 242 people on board, crashed into the campus of BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital on Thursday. Only one passenger, a British national, is known to have survived.
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On Saturday, Dr. Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors’ Association at BJ Medical College, confirmed that 270 bodies had been brought to the Civil Hospital. However, authorities have collected 272 DNA samples, including from 13 individuals who were not passengers: nine local residents and four medical students, raising questions about the identities of the 18 additional victims.
So far, DNA testing has led to the identification of 80 victims. Thirty-three bodies, including that of former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, have been returned to families. The Gujarat government declared a state mourning on Monday to honour Rupani.
The crash has triggered a large-scale emergency response, with a high-level delegation from the Prime Minister’s Office, led by Principal Secretary Dr. Pramod Kumar Mishra, arriving in Ahmedabad to oversee relief operations and the ongoing investigation.
Government officials stated that a definitive death toll will only be known after the DNA identification process is complete.
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Meanwhile, officials investigating the Air India plane crash on Sunday confirmed that the Cockpit Voice Recorder black box has been found, a crucial discovery which will help identify the possible cause behind the deadly crash.
Earlier, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) had confirmed that only the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) of the ill-fated plane was found.
