Air India Plane Crash: Reports claim wrong mortal remains given to UK families, India responds

India is handling the mortal remains of the victims of the June 12 Air India plane crash with “utmost professionalism,” the Ministry of External Affairs said today (July 23). This comes in response to British media reports stating that two families of the crash victims have been handed the wrong bodies.”We have been working closely with the UK side from the moment these concerns and issues were brought to our attention,” Randhir Jaiswal, MEA Spokesperson said.
He added that the identification was completed thoroughly by the medical authorities. “In the wake of the tragic crash, the concerned authorities had carried out identification of victims as per established protocols and technical requirements,” he said.

Our response to media queries regarding a report in the Daily Mail on the Air India crash⬇️

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– Randhir Jaiswal (@MeAIndia) July 23, 2025

A report published by Britain’s Daily Mail on July 22, stated that wrong bodies of the crash victims were handed over to two families.

In one case, the body of the deceased was found to be different; while there was an extra body in the casket of the other, the report said. The matter came to light when “Inner West London coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox sought to verify the repatriated Britons’ identities by matching their DNA with samples provided by the families,” the report continued.
Read more: DNA tests confirm identities of all 260 victims of Air India Ahmedabad plane crashOn June 12, an Air India flight AI171 bound for London had crashed into BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad’s Meghani Nagar soon after taking off. The accident killed 260 people, as per PTI, which include 19 people on the ground and 241 people onboard. One passenger survived the explosion.

Families distraught, postpone funerals

The aviation lawyer representing the British families said the distraught families deserve an explanation.  Meanwhile, the funerals have been postponed.

Lawyer James Healy-Pratt said the remains of at least 12 persons have been repatriated, while many were cremated or buried in India. “I’ve been sitting down in the homes of these lovely British families over the last month, and the first thing they want is their loved ones back,” he was quoted as saying in the report. “But some of them have got the wrong remains and they are clearly distraught over this. It has been going on for a couple of weeks (and) I think these families deserve an explanation,” he added.

“All mortal remains were handled with utmost professionalism and due regard for the dignity of the deceased. We are continuing to work with the UK authorities on addressing any concerns related to this issue,” the EAM spokesperson said.

The probe into the plane crash is underway. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has released a preliminary report of the investigation.

Read more: Air India plane crash probe: Aviation Minister Naidu says ‘give AAIB space to work independently’