Families in India began holding funerals on Sunday for loved ones lost in the devastating Air India crash that killed at least 279 people, making it one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent decades.
Health authorities in Ahmedabad have started handing over bodies to families after confirming identities through DNA testing.
The remains are being returned in white coffins, with grief-stricken relatives gathering to say their final goodbyes.
“My heart is very heavy,” said Tushar Leuva, a local NGO worker involved in the recovery efforts. “How do we give the bodies to the families? How will they react when they open the gate? But we’ll have to do it.”
The crash occurred on Thursday when a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner operated by Air India plummeted into a residential area of Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff.
All but one of the 242 people on board—passengers and crew—were killed, along with at least 38 residents on the ground. Witnesses described a fiery explosion and horrifying scenes of burnt bodies and debris scattered across buildings used by medical staff.
So far, 31 victims have been identified through DNA, a process officials say must be carried out with extreme care.
“It’s a slow and meticulous task,” said Dr. Rajnish Patel of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. Most of the injured on the ground have been treated and discharged, though a few remain in critical condition.
Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the crash.
India’s aviation minister, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, said investigators are analyzing data from the flight’s black box to uncover what went wrong. In the meantime, inspections have been ordered for other Air India Dreamliners as a precaution.
Among those lost was Arjun Patoliya, a father of two who had traveled to India to scatter his late wife’s ashes.
“I really hope those girls will be looked after by all of us,” said Anjana Patel, mayor of Harrow in London, where some of the victims lived. “We don’t have words to describe how the families must be feeling.”
Air India confirmed that the flight included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese, one Canadian, and 12 crew members.
Remarkably, the crash had one survivor: British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. His brother, also on the flight, did not survive.
One woman narrowly avoided tragedy by arriving late to the airport.
“The airline staff had already closed check-in,” said 28-year-old Bhoomi Chauhan.
“At that moment, I kept thinking—if only we had left a little earlier, we wouldn’t have missed our flight.”
As the nation mourns, families continue to wait for answers, closure, and the return of their loved ones.