India on Wednesday responded to a report about bungling in identifying the bodies of Britons killed in the crash of Air India flight 171 by saying it is working with the UK to address “concerns and issues”.
The crash of the Boeing 787 in Ahmedabad on June 12 killed all but one of the 242 people on board, as well as 19 people on the ground. Fifty-two of the dead were British citizens. The aircraft lost power and crashed soon after taking off from Ahmedabad for London.
Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper reported on Tuesday that the remains of two British victims were wrongly identified before being repatriated to the UK.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded to the Daily Mail’s report by saying that Indian authorities are working with their UK counterparts on the issue. The Indian response came hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a two-nation tour to the UK and the Maldives.
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“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,” Jaiswal said.
{{/usCountry}}“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,” Jaiswal said.
{{/usCountry}}“In the wake of the tragic crash, the concerned authorities had carried out identification of victims as per established protocols and technical requirements. All mortal remains were handled with utmost professionalism and with due regard for the dignity of the deceased,” he said.
“We are continuing to work with the UK authorities on addressing any concerns related to this issue,” Jaiswal added.
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According to the Daily Mail, relatives of one victim abandoned funeral plans after being informed their coffin contained the body of an unknown passenger, rather than their family member.
In another case, the “commingled” remnants of more than one person killed in the crash were mistakenly placed in the same casket. They had to be separated before the internment could go ahead last weekend, the report said.
The blunders came to light when the Inner West London coroner sought to verify the identities of the repatriated bodies by matching DNA with samples provided by the families.
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The report said a top-level inquiry into the matter is underway in the UK and India, and that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is “expected to raise concerns” with Modi during his visit to Britain.
The Indian PM will be in the UK during July 23-24 for meetings with Starmer and King Charles III. The formal signing of a bilateral free trade agreement is set to be the highlight of the visit.