The death toll from the plane crash that occurred earlier this month in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, has been revised. Authorities have confirmed that after DNA testing identified the final victim, the body was handed over to the family. Following this, officials released an updated death toll on Saturday. According to local authorities, a total of 260 people died in the crash, whereas earlier reports by medical officials had estimated the number to be 270.
Dr. Rakesh Joshi, superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, stated, “The DNA match for the last victim of the Air India plane crash has been confirmed. The body has been handed over to the family.” He further added, “With this, the total number of confirmed deaths in the plane crash is 260.”
Dr. Joshi also mentioned that three injured victims from the crash are still undergoing treatment at the civil hospital. All 260 bodies have now been returned to the families. Of the 241 passengers and crew members on board, 240 had already been identified, while identification of one body was pending until recently.
The crash occurred on June 12 when an Air India flight headed to London crashed into the premises of a medical college in the Meghaninagar area, shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The crash killed 241 people on board, while one passenger miraculously survived. Additionally, 19 people who were present in the medical college premises also died due to the impact.
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Officials confirmed that DNA testing on Friday finally identified the last victim.
It’s worth noting that the 260 fatalities include 241 passengers and crew members, as well as 19 individuals from the medical college premises. The only survivor from the crash is 40-year-old British national Vishwas Kumar Ramesh.
By June 23, authorities had identified 259 of the victims. The government explained that many of the bodies were badly burned, making identification extremely difficult. DNA testing was used to match the remains with family members, which eventually led to successful identification.
According to an official release, among the 260 victims were 200 Indian nationals (including 181 passengers and 19 from the medical college), seven Portuguese nationals, 52 British nationals, and one Canadian citizen. Typically, DNA matching in such cases can take months, but in this incident, the process was completed in about two weeks.