Funeral plans were abandoned after one family of a British victim were told their coffin contained the body of an unknown passenger, rather than their loved one
Bereaved families of victims of the Air India crash have been sent the wrong bodies, it has emerged.
The remains of some of the deceased were wrongly identified before being flown home to the UK, an error which has caused further distress to grieving families. 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 is reported.
And the “commingled” remnants of more than one person killed in the crash were mistakenly placed in the same casket in another shocking blunder. They had to be separated before the internment could go ahead last weekend, according to reports today.
Of the 261 people who died when Air India flight 171 lost power and crashed, seconds after leaving Ahmedabad for London Gatwick, 52 were returning Britons. Two instances of mistaken identity have so far come to light, but there are fears that more such errors could have been made, leaving families under a shadow of uncertainty.
READ MORE: Air India plane catches fire moments after landing as passengers are getting off
The scandal reportedly came to light when Inner West London coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox sought to verify the repatriated Britons’ identities by matching their DNA with samples provided by the families.
Reacting to her discovery, aviation lawyer James Healy-Pratt, who represents many of the British families, said: “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.”
Keir Starmer is expected to address the issue with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during his state visit to the UK next week. The UK government has told the media, though, the families are experiencing an “extremely distressing time”.
Mr Healy-Pratt, also fighting for compensation in the courts following the the catastrophe, told the Daily Mail: “Family X have no-one to bury because it was the wrong person in their casket. And if isn’t their relative, the question is, who is it in that coffin? Presumably it’s another passenger and their relatives have been given the wrong remains. The coroner also has a problem because she has an unidentified person in her jurisdiction.”
Inquests into 12 deaths were opened and adjourned on July 10 by Dr Wilcox. Approached by the Mail, Dr Wilcox said it would be inappropriate for her to comment on the scandal.
But it is understood complex work is now being done to try to establish the precise chain of events in the recovery and identification process, beginning when the bodies were pulled from the jet’s smouldering wreckage and ending when they reached Britain.
A government spokesperson said: “Formal identification of bodies is a matter for the Indian authorities. We understand that this is an extremely distressing time for the families, and our thoughts remain with them.”