Mangalore: With 81 badly charred bodies of
the Air India flight crash yet to be identified, authorities
have decided to conduct DNA test on Sunday.
As the search operations were called off with the recovery
of all the 158 bodies, the focus has shifted to the Government
Wentlock Hospital here where most of the bodies have been
kept.
Till late evening, a total of 77 bodies had been
identified, Karnataka Environment Minister J Krishna Palemar,
who is coordinating the rescue operations, said.
He said the process for identifying the remaining 81
bodies, most of them charred beyond recognition, will begin
only after DNA experts from Hyderabad arrived here tomorrow.
Emotions ran high as grieved relatives arrived from nearby
areas and adjoining Kasaragod and Kannur districts of Kerala,
which accounted for around 50 victims, were in tears unable to
identify their dear ones.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, his Kerala
counterpart V S Achuthanandan and his ministerial colleagues
Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and P K Sreemathi and Union Minister of
State for Home Affairs Mullappally Ramachandran visited the
hospital.
Bodies have also been kept in other hospitals, including A
J Hospital, City Hospital and SCS Hospital, where a large
number of anxious relatives were scene waiting to identify
their dear ones.
One of the relatives of Shailesh, hailing from nearby
Uduppi, sought help of the mediamen to identify the body of
his kin, who was coming to attend the funeral of his mother,
who died yesterday.
"Shailesh, employed in Abu Dhabi did not get direct
connection and was forced to take this flight to attend the
funeral of his mother. But we are facing difficulty in
identifying his body," his cousin said.
"Karnataka Home Minister V S Acharya had assured me to go
for DNA tests and we do not know what to do," a grieving
relative said.
PTI
