Air India crash families still seeking answers on wrong remains | UK News

Families of people who died when an Air India plane crashed shortly after taking off in June say they still lack answers about why their relatives’ remains were mixed up.

Miten Patel, whose parents Ashok and Shobhana died when their flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick hit a residential building, says Indian officials are yet to apologise after a UK coroner found “other remains” in his mother’s casket.

He says he wants the Indian authorities to say “we have made a mistake, the mistake we trace back to this, and we apologise for it”.

The Indian government was contacted for comment. It said in July that all remains were handled with “utmost professionalism” and dignity.

The family of Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek, who also died in the crash, previously said they had received the incorrect body.

Mr Greenlaw-Meek’s sister, Arwen Greenlaw, said it was “totally unacceptable at this point to not know the reason why we don’t have his remains”.

Mr Greenlaw-Meek – founder of The Wellness Foundry in Ramsgate, Kent and London – posted a video with his husband prior to boarding the flight reflecting on their “magical experience” in India.

Ashok and Shobhana Patel were returning home to Orpington in Greater London. They were among the 242 people on board the flight.

The Indian government previously said that identification of victims took place “as per established protocols” and remains were handled “with due regard for the dignity of the deceased”.

But Mr Patel said that if that were the case “then this shouldn’t have happened” and it seemed like there was “no accountability”.

The Indian government said in July it would “work with the UK authorities on addressing any concerns”.

According to Keystone Law partner James Healy-Pratt, a lawyer representing 25 families of the disaster’s victims, a “diplomatic incident” occurred over the mislabelled remains.

“The Indian authorities went back to look for further remains and they, I understand, did find some further remains which were later then repatriated to London and are being examined by the coroner,” he said.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it had “been in constant dialogue with Air India and the Indian authorities”.

Mr Patel said the FCDO had not been in contact with him “via email or letter or anything like that”.

“Any discussions that have happened with the Indian government, any information, instead of us receiving it from the media, it would be nice to actually get something from the government,” he said.

Ms Greenlaw said she thought her family also “should have received a response from the Foreign Office”.

The FCDO said staff continued to “support the families and loved ones in line with our consular remit” and it had allocated caseworkers to families.

Mr Patel also criticised a lack of communication from officials in India investigating the cause of the plane crash.

He said “it just seems like there’s nothing” from accident investigators until “boom, it’s something on the media”.

According to Mr Patel, nobody from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has contacted him directly, even though he has filled out an online form providing his details.

He said: “We’re trying so hard to continue with life without two of the most important people of our life to myself, to my brother, to my wife, to my children.

“They were our world and to not have any information about the reasons why this happened, or at least updates on where we are in this investigation, I think it’s wrong.”

India’s AAIB did not respond when contacted for comment.

The AAIB published an interim report on the crash in July, which revealed switches were moved to cut out fuel supply to the Boeing 787’s engines shortly after take off, causing power loss.

The cockpit voice recording captured one pilot asking the other why “did he cut off” and the other replying that he didn’t, but did not clarify who said what.

The Indian agency later issued a statement, following speculation on the causes of the crash, claiming “certain sections of the international media are repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting”.

Mr Patel accepted there would not be “a confirmed cause of the accident” this early but said the report “just opens too many questions”.

“There needs to be either somebody from the AAIB that contacts the families and says look, we just want to walk you through this report, this is what we’re looking at,” he said.

He added that “it would be a little bit less of a shock” if relatives were given advanced notice that information would be made publicly available.

Mr Patel said he had also not heard from Air India.

He added that he had seen media reports of passengers’ belongings being recovered from the crash site but had been told “nothing at all” about how to access information about this.

Ms Greenlaw said she had heard “nothing from Air India”.

Air India said it was “keenly aware this continues to be a difficult time” and wanted “to support wherever we can”.