Gujarat government ensures dignified final rites for 19 AI plane crash victims

Almost a month after the Air India Flight AI171 crashed soon after take-off from Ahmedabad airport killing 241 on board and 19 on the ground, the Gujarat government on Tuesday ensured that victims whose remains were later found received a dignified farewell. The remains of 26 victims were recovered while clearing the mangled wreckage, and a meticulous DNA-matching process was carried out to establish their identity.

While seven families chose to perform the final rites privately, the government took full responsibility for the remaining 19 victims, honouring each according to their respective religious beliefs.

Families were kept informed throughout the identification process and given the option to either claim the remains or allow the state to conduct the final rites.

On Tuesday afternoon, the mortal remains of a Muslim victim were interred as per Islamic customs. A Maulvi recited verses from the Quran Sharif as the burial was conducted with solemnity and reverence.

The remaining 18 victims, identified as Hindus, were cremated at the Vadaj crematorium in Ahmedabad under state supervision. In keeping with Hindu traditions, their ashes were later immersed at Narayan Ghat on the banks of the Sabarmati River.

The final rites were conducted under the close oversight of senior officials, including Dr Kanan Desai, Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone-4, and Inspector P V Gohil of Naroda police station. Medical personnel from Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, including the Superintendent, forensic medicine experts, resident doctors, and support staff, played a crucial role in the process, ensuring dignity and care at every stage.

“The state’s responsibility was not only administrative but profoundly moral,” a senior official remarked. “It was our duty to provide comfort to grieving families and ensure that those we lost were honoured with dignity.”

In one of the worst aviation tragedies in Indian history, Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787‑8 Dreamliner en route to London Gatwick, crashed into B J Medical College hostel in Ahmedabad moments after take-off on June 12 from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. As many as 241 people on board and 19 individuals on the ground lost their lives. With 260 casualties, the crash has become India’s deadliest air disaster in nearly three decades, sending shockwaves across the country and beyond.