India has trashed a British media report which claimed that two grieving families in the UK received wrong bodies of the victims of the Air India plane crash in Ahmadabad. Reacting to media reports, Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday categorically noted that "all mortal remains were handled with utmost professionalism."
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) contended that the country's authorities were working with the UK's side on the issue and said established norms were followed to identify the bodies, and the remains were handled with due regard for the dignity of the deceased.
In what looks like a new controversy having arisen with regard to identification of mortal remains of passengers of London bound Air India plane which crashed in Ahmadabad last month, with a UK based lawyer claiming that 'wrong remains' were sent to two families in the UK. While the lawyer claims mix up of mortal remains. and the families having received wrong remains alleging one coffin contained multiple AI crash victims, India has dismissed these claims and maintained that all the victims were identified in accordance with established protocols.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner of Air India crashed into a building shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad for London on June 12, killing 241 people on board and 19 others on the ground. One passenger survived.The victims included 53 British nationals."We have seen the report and have been working closely with the UK side from the moment these concerns and issues were brought to our attention," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
"In the wake of the tragic crash, the concerned authorities had carried out identification of victims as per established protocols and technical requirements," he said.Jaiswal was responding to media queries regarding a report in the Daily Mail on the Air India crash.
"All mortal remains were handled with utmost professionalism and with due regard for the dignity of the deceased. We are continuing to work with the UK authorities on addressing any concerns related to this issue," he said.
The British newspaper, citing versions of two unnamed families, claimed that the repatriation of Britons killed in the crash has been "horrifically bungled".Bereaved families are suffering fresh heartache because the remains of their loved ones were wrongly identified before being flown home, it alleged.
Relatives of one victim had to abandon funeral plans after being informed that their coffin contained the body of an unknown passenger rather than their family member, it said.The report even added that though two instances of mistaken identity have so far come to light, there are fears that more such errors could have been made.
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