Afghan plane crash: Indian victim’s kin seek search mission

The Afghan government has declared all eight aboard the flight dead but the family say that a few clues indicate he could have survived the crash. The family has now written to the Ministry of External Affairs requesting a search mission near the crash site.

While the cause of the crash is still unknown,the family says the satellite phone aboard the aircraft was working even after the accident,even though there was no communication. Subramaniam’s passport that was found from the site was only partially damaged with slight burns on its edges.

“ We are hoping that he survived the crash as the two articles,passport and phone,have been recovered and are not badly damaged. It is possible that he wandered off after the crash as rescuers reached the site only 15 hours after the accident took,” a family member told The Indian Express.

The family has been running around to get help from the authorities and has even requested the Defence Ministry to step in and mount a search mission around the area. “He has served in the IAF for over two decades and hope that the Indian government can mount a separate search to look for him,” a relative said.

While five body bags were brought down by the search mission,officials said it is impossible to establish the identity of the remains. Six Filipinos and one Kenyan were also aboard the aircraft.

However,Indian Embassy officials in Kabul said that only partial and very badly damaged remains were found from and no identification was possible. The officials also said the rescue team of Afghan officials and military personnel who went to the spot did not find any signs of survival.

Suramaniam’s family has also requested the MEA to conduct DNA tests of the remains. “The Kabul hospital has no facility to carry out DNA tests but we have requested the MEA to bring the remains here to carry out the tests,” the family member said. The family has also written a letter to External Affairs Minister S M Krishna seeking help.