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Ahmedabad Plane Crash: The authorities on Friday continued the process to identify through DNA sampling the deceased in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad. The grieving members of the families of aircraft crash victims gathered outside of the hospital in Ahmedabad. The officials had requested family members of the victims to bring DNA samples to Ahmedabad. Now, the question arises what is DNA testing and why it is important to conduct this test before handing the dead body to the kin?

Dr Ratna Dua Puri Explains

Explaining the process of DNA sampling, Dr Ratna Dua Puri, Chairperson, Department of Medical Genetics & Genomics, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said, "DNA is the basic unit of our genes and heredity. It is a double-stranded molecule made up of four alphabets: A, T, G, and C. Many parts of DNA come together to form genes."

We have around 20,000 genes in our body, placed on 23 pairs of chromosomes, she said, adding the Chromosomes are essentially strands of coiled-up DNA.

"Using DNA, we can test all these genes. DNA can be extracted from any cell or organism, but the most common and accessible source is blood," Dr Puri said.

DNA sampling is very important for the identification. In incidents like plane crash, it is difficult to identify the deceased because the body gets burnt or mutilated.

Grieving Families Reach Ahmedabad For DNA Identification

Soon after the deadly plane crash that claimed over 241 lives, relatives of the victims started reaching Ahmedabad.

A family member of one of the deceased, while speaking to ANI, said, "We have come here from the Patan district. My sister-in-law died in the plane crash that occurred yesterday. A DNA test was done yesterday; her brother gave his samples."

He added, "They have asked for 72 hours, following which they would hand over her body to us after confirmation. We do not know how it all happened. A committee has been formed, and this should be investigated. So many people died."

Meanwhile, students were seen exiting with their luggage from BJ Medical College's doctors' hostel, where the London-bound Air India flight crashed on Thursday.

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Many students were seen with injuries, fractures, and damaged belongings.

The AI-171 Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aeroplane bound for London's Gatwick had crashed shortly after it took off from the Ahmedabad International Airport on Thursday. The airlines said 241 people on board the aircraft died in the crash, and one person miraculously survived the crash.

The aircraft was piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 flying hours.

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According to Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1.39 pm (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It made a Mayday call to ATC, but thereafter, the aircraft did not respond to the calls made by ATC.

Immediately after departing Runway 23, the aircraft crashed outside the airport perimeter. An official said heavy black smoke was coming from the accident site.

AAIB Conducts Probe

A formal investigation has been launched by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) into the deadly crash of Air India flight 171 that killed 241 people onboard, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu confirmed on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital on Friday and met with Vishwashkumar Ramesh.

Before arriving at the hospital, PM Modi inspected the plane crash site and took stock of the ground situation. He also held a review meeting with the officials at the airport in Ahmedabad.
(ANI Inputs)