British families of Air India crash victims ‘received wrong bodies’ in bungled repatriation
Awful mistake sees Air India victims’ families receive wrong remains
- British families of victims from deadly Air India flight 171 say they have received wrongly identified bodies due to a bungled repatriation scheme.
- A lawyer representing the bereaved said that some families were forced to abandon funeral plans after discovering the coffins contained different, unidentified remains.
- In some instances, multiple victims' remains were reportedly placed into a single coffin, requiring separation before burial or cremation.
- The misidentification came to light when Dr Fiona Wilcox, a senior coroner, attempted to verify identities using DNA matching with family samples.
- Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to discuss these errors with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during the latter’s state visit to the UK.