UK family receives wrong body of Air India crash victim, cancels funeral

At least two families of Air India crash victims in the UK received the wrong bodies, according to the lawyer representing them. Sources in India said the bodies were sent in sealed coffins after DNA sampling by a government hospital in Ahmedabad, and the airline had no role in the mix-up. India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said established norms were followed to identify the bodies, and the remains were handled with due regard for the dignity of the deceased.

"Remains of the crash victims were wrongly identified and flown to the UK," a lawyer of Keystone Law, representing the families, told India Today TV.

The mix-up was revealed when the coroner in London attempted to verify the remains of the deceased people by matching their DNA, the lawyer added.

"One family had to abandon their funeral plans after being told by the coroner that the coffin contained the body of an unknown person and not that of their family member," said the lawyer.

Another



family received the remains of their family members mixed with the remains of another passenger, with the remains of both the victims placed in the same coffin, according to the lawyer.

"The family had to get the remains of the two passengers separated before carrying out the funeral of their family member," the lawyer told India Today TV. "One family was left with no one to bury after realising that they had received the wrong remains."

The crash of Gatwick-bound AI171 in Ahmedabad on June 12 killed 241 people on board. There were 53 British nationals among those killed in the air crash, according to a BBC report.

The Daily Mail reported the funerals of several British citizens were carried out in India, while the mortal remains of 12 passengers were sent to the UK.

The MEA emphasised that all established norms were followed in the identification of the victims of the air crash, and the remains were handled with due regard for the dignity of the deceased.