Air India Boeing crash: SOS medicine kit, parts of phones, smart watches among ‘belongings’ handed over to the kin of victims
At the Manjalpur crematorium in Vadodara, the family opened the zip cover in which the body had been packed and placed inside the coffin to complete a mandatory ritual
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The Ahmedabad police are coordinating the return of personal belongings found with the bodies (Express/Bhupendra Rana)When Air India crash victim Kalpana Prajapati’s son, Hir, accepted his mother’s body at the civil hospital on Sunday, he was also handed over a transparent plastic bag by the Ahmedabad city police, marked AI-70 — the identification number tag of the victim’s body. The plastic bag contained strips of a few medicines from an SOS-kit in Kalpana’s handbag — the only “belonging” found with her charred body.
At the time of handing over of the coffin, Hir was cautioned that the body would “fast deteriorate” at room temperature and that it “would be best” if the coffin was not opened. Considering the emotional trauma that it could cause the relatives and friends, the family decided to refrain from opening the cover, using a photograph of Kalpana to perform the rituals.
At the Manjalpur crematorium in Vadodara, the family opened the zip cover in which the body had been packed and placed inside the coffin to complete a mandatory ritual. Speaking to The Indian Express, Hir said, “As per the rituals we follow in Gujarat, it is mandatory to apply ghee on the body of the deceased. So, while we understood why the authorities were advising us not to open the coffin as the body had been charred and placed in the cold storage for almost three days… We also knew that not everyone would be able to see the body in that condition. But at the crematorium, we opened the zip bag partially and applied ghee before consigning the bag into the gas-fired cremator.”
Hir said that the Ahmedabad police handed a packet of belongings but most of the valuables have not been found. “We have received some strips of medicines — commonly used painkillers that my mom was carrying in her handbag. They told us it was stuck to her body. She was also wearing jewellery and carrying a laptop bag but that has not been found… We have been told that whatever other luggage is found, will be returned later.”
Even as the process of handing over the bodies of the victims of the Ahmedabad Air India plane crash has gathered speed, with over 100 bodies being identified after DNA match until Monday, the Ahmedabad city police is also simultaneously coordinating the return of personal belongings that were found with the bodies, which have been neatly stacked in sealed, clip lock plastic boxes at Naroda police station.
Senior Ahmedabad city police officials said that the nodal officers of the police station are coordinating the DNA-match to bring the boxes from the police station, which is about 7 kilometers away from the civil hospital.
The officer said, “As soon as the DNA match is found, the message is relayed to the police station with the body number… The personnel appointed to bring across the sealed boxes containing personal belongings of the identified passengers, do so in batches as the families confirm the time they will collect the bodies. The process has been smooth as it was well thought of…”
The officer said that families may not find every piece of belonging that the victim may have carried along as the investigators have only been able to extract whatever objects were found on the bodies during evacuation. “We have been able to extract the personal items that were attached to the bodies… In some cases, charred and exploded phones and remains of smart watches have been found. Many bodies, especially of women, had jewellery attached to it but it is likely that a lot of the precious personal belongings that have not been destroyed may have been scattered and are yet to be found under the debris…”
Vadodara Lok Sabha MP Hemang Joshi, who had been camping at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital to oversee the handing over of bodies of the victims from Vadodara, told this newspaper that the belongings are being handed over by the police under videography to make the process transparent.
Joshi said, “The police brought over the belongings of the victims as and when the bodies were released. These were shown to the victims’ kin and handed over with videography done… The relatives were also advised to not open the coffin as the bodies had begun breaking down. Counselling was essential because families look for closure and want to see their departed loved ones, in the absence of which, they may not be able to believe what has happened… The counselling was a well-thought gesture as it is much needed to support someone grieving a tragedy of this magnitude.”
While most of the personal belongings of the passengers have been lost in the explosion that followed the crash, officials of Ahmedabad city police said that some of the luggage bags that were under the hull or near the tail of the flight have remained intact and will be handed over to the passengers after screening the footage.
An official of the city police said, “Some of the luggage that is being recovered intact, including clothes, are from the part of the aircraft that was not directly exposed to fire. This could be luggage under the hull or near the tail. It is not very close to the fuel…”
According to Vadodara MP Joshi, the process for handing over of the baggage to the kin of the owners will be undertaken after the initial process of handing over the bodies is complete. “There is a help desk of Air India at the civil hospital, where they are taking down details. Once the luggage is identified and matched with the passengers, they will coordinate and hand over whatever has been found.”
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