Some Air India plane crash victims' families in U.K. were sent the wrong remains, lawyer says

[ad_1] London — The households of some British victims of the Air India airplane crash in Ahmedabad have found that is still repatriated to the U.Okay. had been wrongly recognized as being their family members, a lawyer who says his agency is representing over 20 victims' households instructed CBS Information. Of the 242 individuals on board the Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London's Gatwick airport that crashed on June 12 simply minutes after takeoff, 52 had been British residents.

The reason for the crash has not been confirmed, however a preliminary report launched earlier this month by India's Plane Accident Investigation Bureau discovered that cockpit cutoff switches for gas provide to each of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner's engines had been switched, one after one other, inside one second, resulting in each engines dropping thrust .

James Healy-Pratt, an aviation lawyer who stated he was representing plenty of U.Okay. households, instructed CBS Information the stays of not less than 12 British victims of the crash had been repatriated to the U.Okay., however that two of them had been misidentified.

"There was one household who believed they'd accompanied their beloved one again from India, having gone on the market to offer DNA for the identification, after which (after they returned to the U.Okay.) had been knowledgeable that the stays within the casket had been nothing to do with them," Healy-Pratt instructed CBS Information.

Forensic consultants and DGCA officers looking for proof at Air India Aircraft crash web site, June 13, 2025, in Ahmedabad, India. Raju Shinde/Hindustan Occasions/Getty

Healy-Pratt stated the errors had been found when the Interior West London coroner, Dr. Fiona Wilcox, sought to confirm the victims' identities by matching their DNA to samples offered by the households.

"The primary two caskets that arrived into the nation — Dr. Wilcox and her crew, assiduous as all the time, determined to test the verification and id, they usually found that DNA had been commingled in one of many caskets, which wasn't associated to the individual within the casket or the opposite individual," Healy-Pratt stated.

Healy-Pratt stated the household of one of many victims needed to cancel funeral plans after being instructed the stays they thought belonged to their beloved one had been truly these of an unknown particular person.

"It is a double psychological trauma. It is one factor to lose a beloved one, however then you definitely go to India, you sit in a lodge, you give your DNA, you pray to God that there will be a DNA match. You are then instructed there's. You are assured every thing's advantageous and authorized. You come again, and then you definitely're instructed both there's extra stays within the casket than simply your beloved, or there aren't any stays, despite having been licensed, and we do not know who that is," Healy-Pratt instructed CBS Information.

Indian officers cited by native media quickly after the crash stated that, given the extent of the destruction on the web site and the extent to which the wreckage was burned, DNA testing could be required to substantiate the ultimate loss of life toll from each the airplane and from the buildings on the web site in Ahmedabad.

"Now we have seen the report and have been working intently with the U.Okay. aspect from the second these considerations and points had been dropped at our consideration," Indian International Ministry spokesperson Shri Randhir Jaiswal stated in an announcement Wednesday. "Within the wake of the tragic crash, the involved authorities had carried out identification of victims as per established protocols and technical necessities. All mortal stays had been dealt with with utmost professionalism and with due regard for the dignity of the deceased. We're persevering with to work with the U.Okay. authorities on addressing any considerations associated to this subject."

Healy-Pratt stated the assertion from the Indian International Ministry assertion was "merely not adequate."

"It lacks specifics. It lacks any detailed rationalization of the chain of custody of the stays from the time of identification to DNA matching to putting in caskets. It lacks any assurances that there could also be stays, whether or not mislabeled, unidentified or recognized, nonetheless in India," he stated.

"The households need to draw a line underneath their emotional misery that is come out from this and in order that requires detailed arduous work by the Indian authorities to offer assurances that there aren't any additional stays of British nationals both unidentified, recognized or mislabeled, misidentified in India. And the road is not going to be drawn till that forged iron assurance is offered. And for the time being, it isn't forthcoming," he stated.

U.Okay. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are set to satisfy in London this week, and Healy-Pratt stated he hoped this subject would make it onto their agenda.

Healy-Pratt additionally stated that, along with in search of the stays of their family members, the British households need to know the reason for the Air India crash, so their attorneys are independently investigating. The households, Healy-Pratt stated, need to ensure that any security suggestions that come from formal probes are carried out internationally.

"After which lastly, they need monetary justice," Healy-Pratt stated.

He stated the households' authorized crew had "already made an strategy to the attorneys for Air India in London, and we're progressing claims there within the Excessive Court docket. And we'll even be submitting an motion in opposition to Boeing within the U.S. courts to get extra details about these gas management cutoff switches, as a result of they do have a checkered historical past."