The grieving families of Britons killed in the Air India crash have been sent the wrong bodies in a bungled repatriation scheme, a lawyer acting for them has said.
Air India Flight 171 lost power and hit a building on June 12 just after take-off from Ahmedabad airport. It was heading for London. All but one of the 242 passengers and crew and 19 people on the ground were killed. A total of 52 victims were British citizens.
The remains of a number of British victims were wrongly identified before they were flown home, it was reported on Tuesday. One victim’s relatives abandoned funeral plans after allegedly being told that the coffin contained a different passenger’s body. That body has yet to be identified.
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In another case reported by the Daily Mail, the remains of more than one person killed in the crash were commingled in a single coffin. The remains had to be separated before the funeral could go ahead.
The mishandling of repatriations was uncovered when Dr Fiona Wilcox, senior coroner for inner west London, compared DNA from the bodies with samples provided by victims’ families.
Investigations are under way in Britain and India. Sir Keir Starmer is expected to discuss the case with Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, when he makes a state visit to Britain this week.
Some crash victims were cremated or buried soon after their bodies were recovered, in accordance with Hindu, Muslim and other religious customs.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed and burst into flames seconds after take-off
SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
James Healy-Pratt, a lawyer representing several British families, said that the remains of at least 12 British victims had been repatriated.
He told the Mail: “I’ve been sitting down in the homes of these lovely British families over the last month, and the first thing they want is their loved ones back. But some of them have got the wrong remains and they are clearly distraught over this. It has been going on for a couple of weeks and I think these families deserve an explanation.”
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Healy-Pratt is seeking formal responses from Air India and its emergency response contractor, Kenyon International Emergency Services. It is understood that the families affected by the bungled repatriations are in contact with their MPs and the Foreign Office.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner burst into flames, making identification of victims difficult. Some families received remains from the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad in a plastic container rather than a coffin.
Indian authorities had claimed on June 28 that DNA tests had identified all 260 victims of the crash.