The Indian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday addressed the reports of two UK-based families receiving the wrong dead bodies of those who were victims of the Air India flight crash on June 12. Over the last couple of days, several UK-based media organisations have published news around India sending wrongly identified remains to families of the crash victims. Without much delay, the Foreign Ministry of the country has responded to these claims and has assured global citizens of working on these issues.
It is reported that "at least" two families of Air India crash victims have received the wrong bodies of their loved ones. There is no official remark on how many bodies have been interchanged by mistake.
Journalist Faye D'Souza quoted the lawyer of the families, saying, "One family had to abandon their funeral plans after being told that the coffin contained the body of an unknown person."
She also mentioned that in the other case that is being brought to light, one particular coffin was found to contain remains from two different victims.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal earlier in the day stated, "We have seen the report and have been working closely with the UK side from the moment these concerns and issues were brought to our attention. In the wake of the tragic crash, the concerned authorities had carried out identification of victims as per established protocols and technical requirements."
He further added, "We are continuing to work with the UK authorities on addressing any concerns related to this issue."
However, another PTI report on Wednesday evening mentioned that "The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said all mortal remains were handled with utmost professionalism and with due regard for the dignity of the deceased."
As per a Daily Mail report, families of victims in the UK have said that the remains of their beloved ones were not properly identified before being flown from India to the UK. In some instances, families were given remains that contained the commingled fragments of multiple individuals.
For those unfamiliar with the crash, Air India flight AI 171, operated on a Boeing 787-8, crashed a few minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12, 2024. The flight was en route to London-Gatwick, and post the crash, only 1 person out of the 242 passengers was found alive.
