- An Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad and went up in flames on Thursday.
- DNA tests are being used to identify victims.
- An eight-month-old's blood samples have been taken to help identify his father's body.
The Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday exploded in a fireball because of nearly 1.25 lakh litres of aviation fuel in it. DNA tests are being conducted to help in the identification of the bodies, and in the queue to submit blood samples was an eight-month-old boy, whose father had died in the crash.
UK-based Mohammed Adnan, his wife Mantasha and son, Ibrahim, had come to Ahmedabad to be with their family for Eid al-Adha, which was celebrated on June 6. Adnan was among the 241 people, including 10 crew members and two pilots, who died in the horrific crash, which had only one survivor.
Mantasha's brother, Dr Nabeel, said they had to use little Ibrahim's samples to get Adnan's body as they had no other choice. "My sister's blood samples wouldn't work and no one from Adnan's family was in the city."
While Adnan was returning to London early and had booked Air India flight AI 171 - a Boeing Dreamline 787-8 - from Ahmedabad to Gatwick airport for Thursday, Mantasha and Ibrahim were scheduled to fly back on June 21.
AI 171 crashed at 1.38 pm on Thursday, just 32 seconds after it took off from Ahmedabad airport. The plane had managed to gain an altitude of only 625 feet before it began descending and crashed into the complex of the BJ Medical College, which is on the same campus as the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.
At least 10 people, including four medical students, at the medical college also died.
Another person who had given their sample said they were told the body would be given in around 72 hours.
"We have come here from the Patan district. My sister-in-law died in the plane crash that occurred yesterday. The DNA test was done yesterday, her brother gave his samples," the man, who was not named, told news agency ANI
"They have asked for 72 hours, following which they would hand over her body to us after confirmation. We do not know how it all happened. A committee has been formed, and this should be investigated. So many people died," he added.
