Bodies of six Air India crash victims handed over to relatives, say police
Ahmedabad (PTI): A day after the deadly plane crash in Ahmedabad, the bodies of six victims were handed over to their families after identification on Friday, police said.
At least 265 bodies were sent to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital for post-mortem after the crash on Thursday. Of these, only six victims were identified as their faces were intact, inspector Chirag Gosai said.
He said DNA profiling is underway to ascertain the identities of others as their bodies are charred beyond recognition.
"We have handed over six bodies to relatives. We have started the process of collecting DNA samples of relatives for profiling to identify bodies that are charred beyond recognition. Relatives of 215 deceased persons have approached us to give their samples," said Gosai, who is handling the affairs at the post-mortem room.
He said details are gathered from relatives arriving at the PM room, and these people are then sent to BJ Medical College to provide their DNA samples.
"It will take nearly 72 hours to complete the exercise of matching the DNA samples. Once there is a match, bodies will be handed over to relatives from the post-mortem room," the inspector said.
A Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AI 171), with 242 people on board, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, crashed into a medical college complex in the Meghaninagar area moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday afternoon.
One person survived the tragedy, while 241 on board, including 168 Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian, were killed.
Four MBBS students and a doctor's wife were among those killed at the complex of BJ Medical College outside the airport perimeter.
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MediaOne TV Facebook page restored after block linked to ‘government request’
Kochi: The official Facebook page of Malayalam news channel MediaOne TV has been restored after being blocked without prior notice, the broadcaster said on Wednesday.
The channel was quoted by Maktoob as saying that the restriction was lifted automatically, with Meta Platforms informing it that the action had been taken following a “government request” which has now expired or been reversed.
The development came shortly after the channel approached the Kerala High Court challenging the blocking of its page, terming it arbitrary and in violation of legal provisions and judicial precedents. The High Court had issued notice to Meta via email hours before the restriction was withdrawn.
In its petition, the channel said access to its Facebook page had been restricted for users in India without citing any specific content or alleged violation. It contended that while individual posts may be taken down under applicable a rule, blocking an entire page goes beyond the scope of such measures.
The incident followed an earlier action taken against the channel in 2022, when the Ministry of Information and transmitting prohibited it from transmitting. It cited national security concerns regarding the Ministry of Home Affairs' refusal of security clearance.
The Supreme Court of India in April 2023 set aside the ban, observing that national security claims cannot be made without substantive basis and that criticism of government policies does not render a media outlet anti-national.
