Gandhinagar: The mortal remains of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani have been identified through DNA test, officials said on Sunday, June 15, as investigations into Thursday’s Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad intensified.

Rupani was among the 241 passengers killed in the horrific tragedy on June 12. So far, 32 victims have been identified and the mortal remains of 14 handed over to the relatives, additional civil superintendent Dr Rajnish Patel told reporters, as the process to identify the deceased through DNA tests gained pace three days after the tragedy.

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“The DNA sample of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani matched (with that of his family members) today morning at 11.10 am,” Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi told reporters here.

All but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board the London-bound Boeing 787-8(AI171) and another 29 persons, including five MBBS students, on the ground were killed in the plane crash on Thursday.

The London-bound aircraft came down moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport before falling inside the nearby campus of the Medical College in Meghaninagar area of Ahmedabad and going up in flames.

Various central and state government agencies, led by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), were at the crash site here for a probe into the causes of the country’s worst air disaster in three decades.

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) Commissioner Banchha Nidhi Pani said the black box recovery was a very important part of the investigation process.

“When the investigation started, the black box had to be recovered. The black box is either in the front or in the back. In this case, the tail end was not destroyed and it was stuck in the first building (of BJ Medical College hostel),” the official said.

The central government on Saturday set up a high-level multi-disciplinary panel to ascertain the “root cause” of the plane crash and assess any contributing factors, including mechanical failure, human error and regulatory compliances.

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The panel, headed by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, was mandated to give its report in three months.

As many as 230 teams were formed to coordinate with the victims’ families, officials earlier said.

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