Pakistan air crash: Forensic experts identify 75 bodies so far

Islamabad, June 01: A total of 75 bodies out of 97 people killed in the plane crash in Karachi last month have been identified so far through DNA tests, according to a media report.

The Airbus A320 aircraft of the national carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had 91 passengers and a crew of eight when it crashed into the Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir on May 22, minutes before its landing. Ninety Seven passengers were killed.

Eleven people on the ground were injured. Pakistani authorities have been conducting DNA tests to identify the severely charred bodies. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Sunday said that out of the 97 deceased, 75 have been identified and their bodies handed over to their family members.

"Now eight bodies kept in Chhipa mortuary and another 14 at the Edhi morgue are left to be identified," he was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune on Sunday. He assured that the DNA matching of the bodies was underway and that they would be handed over to their family members soon after identification.

The Sindh Forensic DNA and Serology Laboratory (SFDL) at the University of Karachi on Sunday said that it will complete the process of identifying the bodies of the victims in the next 24 hours, the report said. In a press release, the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) at the University of Karachi said SFDL has completed a total of 37 cross-match so far, and their reports have also been dispatched to the Sindh police department.

"SFDL with the help of 20 scientists and volunteers is currently engaged in massive undertaking of identifying bodies of unfortunate victims of the air crash," an ICCBS spokesman was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune.

According to the statistics, maintained by the SFDL, as many as 67 samples have been received from the families of the victims, and 69 samples of the victims have been received from the police department so far. SFDL is the first of its kind facility in Sindh that specialises in the detection, identification and analysis of human DNA from evidence samples collected by law enforcement agencies from crime scenes.