The Role of surgical implants in identifying Air India crash victims

As bodies of Air India plane crash victims were charred beyond recognition, characteristics, such as metal rods in persons who had undergone surgeries in the past, proved crucial in the identification process, a local MLA involved in tagging corpses after the deadly tragedy said on Monday.

BJP MLA Dr Hasmukh Patel was one of the first legislators to reach the post-mortem section of the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, where bodies were brought in after the crash in which 270 people lost their lives on June 12.

Considering the magnitude of the accident, it was evident that the identification of victims was going to be difficult, Patel told PTI.

"The (BJP) MLAs got a message from the party to reach the crash site, but it was chaotic. I called the civil hospital and was told that bodies were being brought there," he said.

By the time Patel, a doctor who had had a private practice for years, reached the facility, seven to eight bodies had been brought to the post-mortem section, and they were completely charred, he said.

The legislator from Amraiwadi said some bodies were burnt to such an extent that parts of them were coming off.

"We started tagging the bodies with tapes with the sequence of their arrivals. The tags would be put with the cotton tape on the body parts wherever possible — head, chest, arm," he said.

Under normal circumstances, victims would have been identified with the help of physical traits such as hair and ornaments on their person.

However, with the temperature reaching over 1000 degrees Celsius in the aircraft at the time of the crash, even this is of little help, he said.

Patel said, "We soon observed that although some bodies were charred, we could make out that some of the victims had undergone knee replacement surgeries and some had (surgical) plates, rods inserted in their bodies for medical reasons. We noted down these characterises along with the tags." The BJP deputed Patel to assist relatives in identifying bodies and giving samples for DNA matching.

"Bodies with specific physical characteristics were isolated. When relatives started pouring in, they were asked to provide basic details about the victims. The characteristics noted down while tagging the bodies helped in matching the DNA of some victims, making the process easier," he said.

Last week, the hospital authorities said bodies were being handed over to the families after the DNA match.

Officials on Sunday said 251 victims of the horrific June 12 Ahmedabad plane crash have been identified through DNA tests so far, and 245 bodies have been handed over to families.

A London-bound Air India flight crashed into a hostel complex in the Meghaninagar area moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on the afternoon of June 12, killing 270 persons, including 241 on board.

One passenger survived.

Patel, who has been a part of the BJP's doctor cell for nearly two decades, recalled a similar incident in 1988 when an Indian Airlines flight from Mumbai (then Bombay) to Ahmedabad crashed, killing 133 persons.

He was a second-year student at the B.J.M Medical College, which incidentally was the site of the June 12 crash.

Even at that time, Patel volunteered to tag the dead bodies with his classmates.

Patel, who went on to complete his MD in Pathology, described both the incidents as heart-rendering.

"I was unable to sleep for a week after the June 12 incident. I was active physically, but then I would have issues sleeping due to the horrific nature of the incident. As a doctor, I have been trained to handle such situations, but this was different, just like the previous air crash in 1988," he said.