Gujarat CM visits Ahmedabad Civil Hospital meets family members of plane crash victims

Ahmedabad, Jun 16 (PTI) Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Monday met grieving family members of the June 12 Air India plane crash victims at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital where they are camping to know results of DNA testing and for collecting mortal remains to conduct last rites.
The CM extended his condolences to family members of the deceased and directed officials to ensure smooth DNA verification to identify the victims and dignified handover of their mortal remains. Patel enquired about the injured persons undergoing treatment at the hospital and asked authorities to provide them proper medical care.
The Chief Minister also held a meeting with ministers and senior state officials to review the entire relief and rescue operation launched in the aftermath of the crash four days ago, an official release said.
A total of 241 passengers and crew on board and 29 persons on the ground died after Air India's Ahmedabad-London flight crashed into a medical college complex shortly after taking off from the Sardar Valabhbhai International Airport here.
"Visited Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad and met the bereaved families. Extended my heartfelt condolences to them. Assured families that every possible support is being extended in this tragic hour," Patel later said in a post on X.
He said DNA sampling and matching are being conducted with urgency at the hospital to identify all the crash victims and hand over their bodies to their relatives.
"Interacted with medical teams and visited the verification room facilitating the dignified handover of mortal remains. DNA sampling and matching are being conducted with urgency and care," he stated.
"I also chaired a review meeting with ministers and senior officials to evaluate ongoing response measures. Directed them to ensure timely medical care, dignified handover of mortal remains, and smooth DNA verification to support every affected family," the CM maintained.
In the aftermath of the plane crash, the Gujarat health department and civil hospital administration have been working round the clock to provide treatment to the injured (most of them were on the ground) and to carry out DNA mapping and hand over the mortal remains to the respective families.
During his visit to the hospital, the CM inspected the verification room set up at D2 Block and consoled relatives of the patients undergoing treatment, the release said.
Patel was briefed about the entire process of DNA sample mapping, it said.
Thereafter, the Chief Minister held another meeting with state ministers and senior officials to review the ongoing relief efforts. He directed that all necessary services be extended to the injured and every possible help be provided to the families of the deceased, the release said.
State Health Minister Rushikesh Patel, Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi, and another minister Jagdish Vishwakarma were present in the meeting
The visit comes as the process of DNA matching of those who died in the crash with their relatives was underway at the hospital.
Till Monday afternoon, 99 victims were identified through DNA matching and 64 bodies, including that of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, were handed over to their families, officials said.
Profiling of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), a unique genetic code, is considered to be one of the most reliable methods to identify human remains. To identify who the collected DNA belongs to, reference samples are collected from biological relatives of the deceased and they are matched using a complex, multi-layered process to arrive at conclusion about the identity.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)