Guwahati: More than two weeks after the devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, authorities have confirmed the identity of the final victim through DNA testing, bringing the official death toll to 260, officials said on Saturday.
The last set of remains was identified on Friday (June 27) and handed over to the victim’s family, according to Dr Rakesh Joshi, Superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. The hospital is still treating three individuals who sustained injuries in the incident.
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The London-bound Air India flight crashed on June 12, shortly after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, striking a hostel complex in the Meghaninagar area.
The crash killed 241 people on board, along with 19 individuals on the ground. Only one passenger, 40-year-old British national Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, survived the crash.
Initial estimates had placed the death toll at 270, but this was revised following identification efforts.
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By June 23, the identities of 259 victims had been confirmed, with one body pending due to the condition of the remains. Officials resorted to DNA testing, as many bodies were charred or mutilated beyond recognition.
According to a government release, the identification process was unusually swift. “In most such cases, DNA identification can take months. In this instance, identification was completed within about two weeks,” the statement read.
The final breakdown of the 260 confirmed fatalities includes: 200 Indians (181 passengers and 19 ground victims), 52 British nationals, 7 Portuguese nationals, 1 Canadian national.
Authorities have now returned the remains of all 260 victims to their families.