Kalpeshbhai Patni, 28, mourns as he sits outside the postmortem room at a hospital, for his brother Akash Patni, 14, who died when an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane crashed during take-off from an airport, in Ahmedabad, India, June 13, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

Item 1 of 5 Kalpeshbhai Patni, 28, mourns as he sits outside the postmortem room at a hospital, for his brother Akash Patni, 14, who died when an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane crashed during take-off from an airport, in Ahmedabad, India, June 13, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Summary

Companies Doctors work overnight to gather dental samples

Victims usually identified using prior dental records

Grieving relatives wait to collect loved ones’ remains

‘Let me verify the body,’ says one relative

AHMEDABAD, India, June 13 (Reuters) – Dozens of anxious family members sat outside an Indian hospital on Friday waiting to collect bodies of loved ones killed in the Air India plane crash , as doctors worked to gather dental samples from the deceased and run identification checks.

In the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade, an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for London took off from Ahmedabad on Thursday but crashed within about 30 seconds, erupting into a massive fireball.

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Outside the B.J. Medical College in Ahmedabad, an elderly woman said four of her relatives including two children were onboard the flight, but declined to speak further to the media until the bodies were handed over.

“Can you give us the dead bodies? If not then we will not give interviews. We are so tired now,” she said in frustration.

Other relatives sat patiently at the hospital where many have in recent hours given blood samples for DNA profiling at a dedicated centre for collection.

At the hospital, Jaishankar Pillai, a forensic dentist, told reporters the doctors were in the autopsy room until 4:30 a.m. on Friday collecting dental samples, as “teeth can withstand the heat”, and they hoped they could use them for identification.

“We have recorded the dental records of 135 charred victims … it’s a very pathetic situation,” said Pillai, adding he did not have data for how many bodies had been identified so far.

Officials outside the autopsy room told Reuters at least seven bodies had been handed over to their relatives after identification checks.

DNA TESTING

The state administration said in a statement 219 relatives of crash victims had come forward for DNA testing and blood samples, while many others were being contacted.

In the case of dental records, a person is not typically identified based on a relative’s teeth, but through reference to the victim’s prior dental charts, radiographs, mouth guards or other records.

Pillai added that even a selfie photograph of the victim could help doctors match the gap between two teeth to run checks.

Scenes of distress played out beside the autopsy room. Daksha Patni was mourning the loss of her nephew, 14-year-old Akash Patni, and wailing as she waited for his body. Akash had been near his family-run tea stall and was killed on the ground by the impact of the plane hitting a building.

“Hospital people aren’t giving any good response. They are just saying ‘come after 72 hours’. We are poor – that’s why we are not allowed inside,” Daksha told Reuters.

The cause of the crash, the first for a Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab Dreamliner wide-body airliner, has not yet been determined and India’s aviation minister said a formal investigation had begun.

A family member of another victim, 81-year-old Abdur Razzaq Chitthi Wala, told IANS news agency he was not being allowed to verify the body.

“I received a video showing his body, it’s burnt, but the face is clearly visible. All I’m asking is to let me verify the body,” said the relative, who did not share his name during the interview.

“They are saying give your blood sample, and you will get a call.”

Writing by Aditya Kalra, Editing by William Maclean and Gareth Jones

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The devastating crash of a London-bound Air India flight on Thursday (June 12, 2025) not only claimed the lives of several passengers on board but also killed several residents and bystanders when the aircraft ploughed into a building. Among the victims was 15-year-old Akashbhai Surajbhai Patani, who was sleeping on a wooden cot (khatiya) near his mother’s tea stall (pushcart) when the tragedy struck.

While Akash died instantly in the flames, his mother, Sitabhen Patani, who was serving tea at her pushcart, suffered severe burns and is currently undergoing treatment at Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital. Just a few meters away from her ward, her son’s body lies in the post-mortem room.

Ahmedabad plane crash LIVE updates

Sitabhen’s husband, Surajbhai, an autorickshaw driver in Ahmedabad, was on duty when the crash occurred. He learned about the accident 30 minutes later and rushed to the scene, only to find his son dead. “No government or money can replace him… he was a bright child,” Surajbhai said, sitting in his auto outside the hospital, his voice heavy with sorrow.

Akash, a Class 9 student at a local private school, had gone to his mother’s tea stall to deliver her lunch. “As she was eating, he slept on the wooden cot when the plane crashed… he was burnt alive in the flames,” said Vishalbhai, Akash’s brother-in-law, who is also an auto-rickshaw driver.

The family, gathered near the morgue, struggles to process the loss. While they consider Sitabhen “lucky” to have survived, the void left by Akash’s death is irreplaceable.

Meanwhile, hundreds of grieving relatives remain on the hospital campus, waiting for confirmation on when they can claim their loved ones’ bodies. Officials have reportedly informed them that DNA matching could take at least 72 hours.

Meanwhile, the bodies of victims who could be identified without DNA testing have begun to be released. Among them is Aryan Rajput, a first-year MBBS student from Gwalior, who was in his medical college hostel mess when the plane crashed into the building.

Political and social workers step in

Ellis Bridge MLA Amit Shah and Amraiwadi MLA Dr. Hasmukh Patel have stationed themselves outside BJ Medical College, assisting families with the DNA sampling process. “We are working in six-hour shifts to help coordinate with hospital staff,” they said.

Adding to the relief efforts, a large number of RSS Swayamsevaks(volunteers) are assisting with DNA sample collection, traffic management, and providing food and water to distraught families.

BBC reporter describes scenes at Ahmedabad trauma centre

Lakshmi Patel

BBC Gujarati

The BBC’s Lakshmi Patel has been telling us what the situation in Ahmedabad was like in the aftermath of the aeroplane crash yesterday.

When I first arrived at the trauma centre yesterday, one side of the main road outside the hospital had been blocked, especially for ambulances and vehicles rushing in and out of the hospital.

Ambulance sirens rented the air. The road had been lined with police and security guards, and the June sun was beating down hard.

Several doctors from Ahmedabad’s private hospitals had joined in to help.

Whenever an ambulance arrived at the centre, relatives would rush in to see who was inside. They all had very similar stories to tell.

“My brother lives in London. His wife was going there. We had just dropped her off at the airport and left, before we heard of the crash,” said Krishna Patel from Khambhisa. His sister-in-law Jayshree Patel was on the flight.

I met the family of a man who had come from London for his father’s funeral and was on the fated flight.

A mother from Bharuch in western India was running around for information. Not long back, she had dropped off her son at the airport.

There was Kailashben Patel’s family who were hoping for some information. She was on her way to London to meet her son.

Ahmedabad — The examination hall of the BJ medical college, behind the mortuary of Ahmedabad’s civil hospital, was turned into a make-shift blood collection centre for DNA identification of the victims of Air India flight crash. Inside the heavily guarded mortuary are the bodies of those who died in the crash on Thursday afternoon. A makeshift blood collection centre set up inside the BJ Medical College examination hall, behind Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital mortuary, where grieving families gave DNA samples through the night to help identify victims of the Air India crash. (Prawesh Lama/HT)

Throughout Thursday night and until early Friday, families from states as far as Manipur, and nearby Maharashtra came in to give their blood samples.

Until 5 am on Friday, hospital officials said at least 200 people had given their samples. “We are expecting families of foreign nationals to come tomorrow,” Kuldipsinh P Barot, from the medical college’s forensic department, said.

Inside the examination hall, was Imtiyaz Ali(42), who had come from Mumbai after hearing of the flight crash. On the Air India 171 flight to Gatwick, carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members from Ahmedabad, there was his brother Javed, Javed’s wife Mariyam and their two children — Amani and Zayn. Javed worked as a manager at a hotel in London.

His brother, Imtiyaz spoke to HT after giving his blood sample. “Javed had come on June 6 last for our mother’s treatment and to celebrate EiD. The whole family was there on the ill fated plane. I haven’t told my mother about it. We have not even seen the bodies. The doctors here told me to give my blood samples,” Imtiyaz said adding that he hoped for his brother to be alive.

“I am sending WhatsApp messages to his phone number. For some reason the messages are getting delivered. I am still getting two ticks to every message sent on his WhatsApp. So I know the chances are low but I wish he is and his family are alive,” Imtiyaz said.

Police officers believe the phone may be among the hundreds of unclaimed bags that fell in the ground floor of the building near the airport wall when the plans crashed.

Imtiyaz said his sister and her family were also returning to London on Thursday but had booked a different flight. “It is destiny that Javed and his family were in that plane. He booked a plane via Ahmedabad. My sister booked a direct one. I have no idea what prompted Javed to book a flight via Ahmedabad. Somehow when I dropped him to the Mumbai airport last night, I did not ask him why he was going via Ahmedabad. Maybe it was the difference in the fares.”

At the entrance of the hall, there are messages on the wall informing relatives that the blood sample report will be available only after 72 hours.

Outside the hall, Pune resident Sameer Sheikh was unable to understand why he must wait for 72 hours. Irfan’s younger son, Irfan Sameer Sheikh was a crew member. Sheikh has come with his family from Pune.

“The Air India executives went inside the mortuary and confirmed to me that my son’s body is not charred. We showed our son’s identity card to the Air India executives who confirmed that the body is not charred and they could recognise him. We cannot wait for 3 days. They should hand over the bodies of those who have been identified,” Sheikh said.

Irfan, who had joined Air India two years ago, had last spoken to his mother before boarding the flight. “He was to return day after tomorrow,”Sheikh said.

At the blood collection examination hall, the help desk manned by hospital staff, medical students and local volunteers were busy through the night. For the medical students there, the task is even more traumatic because the dead include their juniors who lived in the hostel’s mess next to the airport.

The building next to the Ahmedabad airport boundary wall where the aircraft crashed, its rear parts stuck to the building, was the BJ medical college’s boys hostel. The hostel is a 10-minute drive from the college and the examination hall where blood samples are being taken.

“Some families coming here are relatives of juniors whom we have seen at the college here. It is painful. Equally painful is having to take the blood sample of a 11 year old who has lost both his parents in the crash or an elderly man who has lost his son and daughter-in-law,” one PG student at the DNA blood sample collected desk said.

More than 15 hours after the crash, families continued to walk in to give their samples at the medical college’s examination hall. There is heavy security outside the mortuary. Volunteers and police teams are guiding every family to the DNA collection centre.

“Those who died in today’s accident aren’t just the passengers or those who were trapped the BJ Medical College’s mess when the flight crashed. There were passers-by and shop keepers near the mess who too have died in the fire after the crash. Even at 5 am we are getting people coming from different parts of the state. The flames from the fuel of the plane engulfed the neighbourhood. The number of people who have died is more than what is being reported,” she said.