Air India: Details of Last Victim of Plane Crash Break Hearts as DNA Test Shows His Identity

• The Ahmedabad Air India Flight 171 crash remains identification process concluded with the last victim identified through DNA matching
• A total of about 253 bodies were identified via DNA testing and six through facial recognition out of 260 fatalities
• Relatives' DNA samples facilitated the rapid identification process, completed within two weeks despite typically taking months

All remains recovered from the Air India Flight 171 crash site in Ahmedabad have now been identified using DNA matching or facial recognition.

According to officials, the last body, belonging to a passenger, was identified on Saturday night through DNA matching.

Last victim of Air India crash identified

As reported by Hindustan Times, Superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, Rakesh Joshi, confirmed that the overall death toll from the plane crash stood at 260, including 19 non-passengers. No new remains had been recovered from the site in the last few days.

It was gathered that the last victim, a male resident from Kutch, was handed over to his relatives late on Saturday night.

The identification process, facilitated by DNA samples from relatives, was completed in approximately two weeks, a great feat considering such processes typically take months.

A total of 253 victims were identified through DNA testing, while six were identified through facial recognition.

The London-bound Air India Dreamliner aircraft had crashed shortly after takeoff on June 12 from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, resulting in 241 fatalities among the 242 people onboard.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national of Indian origin, was the lone survivor.

The impact of the crash devastated a nearby medical college's residential block, claiming several lives on the ground.

According to a senior police official, 318 body parts were recovered from the crash site at Meghaninagar.

Additional Chief Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department, Dhananjay Dwivedi, stated that 250 relatives of the deceased provided DNA samples for identification.

The DNA matching process was conducted at FSL Gandhinagar and the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU), while samples were collected at Ahmedabad Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).

Bhargav Patel, Head of the Centre of Excellence in DNA Forensics at NFSU, explained the DNA extraction process, saying:

"The DNA extraction process begins with careful sample preparation. Bone samples are meticulously ground into a fine powder, while tooth samples are first broken into small fragments before being similarly powdered. This is crucial for maximising DNA yield from these challenging biological materials."

The swift identification of victims brought closure to families affected by the devastating plane crash.

Reactions trail Air India plane crash

@Happy Mermaid said:

"So very very sorry to all who lost loved ones and friends to this horrific crash. Our hearts are with you and prayers to all involved in the plane and on the ground that lost their lives."

@Amos James said:

"People need to come to Jesus Christ is king of kings lord of Lords there is no others God like Jesus Christ is the only way."

@Alexa said:

"Such a tragic event. My thoughts are with the victims and their families during this difficult time."

@Kiki said:

"I was wondering how many stories would be like this. Where they were almost on that flight, Or people in the hostel who typically should of been there but weren’t that day."

@ZARAoHARA said:

"We don't wish this on anyone. Could have been avoided if government had strict rules on aircraft checks. Sorry to all those broken."

@CE Naveed Khan added:

"Quick release, detachable fuel tanks to be made with a material which could not explode. And for height, even small parachutes can be fitted for FOT safe landings. In this case, if at Meday call, pilot have option to quick release FOT, and it fell even 50m apart from aircraft, 50% lives could have been saved."

Man speaks on Air India plane's seats

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that a man slammed Air India over the condition of one of their aircraft and urged them to shut down temporarily.

In a trending photo, he showed the broken seats, dirty covers and other things he noticed inside the aeroplane.

Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng