12 of 158 dead in Mangalore plane crash yet to be identified
By IANSSunday, May 23, 2010
MANGALORE - Twelve of the 158 victims of the Mangalore air crash are yet to be identified while the bodies of 128 deceased have been given to their relatives, Air India chairman-cum-managing director Arvind Jadhav said here Sunday.
Jadhav said bodies of 128 victims were given to their relatives after their post-mortems. Autopsy was being conducted on 18 identified bodies, he added.
Asked if the ill-fated plane’s black box has been found, he refused to reply, saying: “I’m not on investigation. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will tell you about it.”
“From what I have come to know, it has not yet been found. But you should pose this question to the DGCA,” Jadhav said.
He expressed his appreciation for the local villagers and people from Mangalore, including doctors and young people, NGOs and the local administration for rushing in to help the victims and rescue them from the plane wreckage.
The IX 812 Dubai-Mangalore flight overshot the runway while landing at the Bajpe airport, about 20 km from here, early Saturday and caught fire after plunging about 300 metres off a cliff.
All passengers were Indians, many returning home from Dubai where they worked.
