Authorities have begun releasing the remains of victims from one of India’s deadliest air disasters, following identification through DNA analysis.

This comes several days after an Air India aircraft crashed, claiming the lives of at least 270 people in Gujarat, according to officials on Sunday.

The Boeing 787, en route to London, crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday, June 12, 2025.

It slammed into a hostel belonging to a medical college located in a residential neighborhood of Ahmedabad, a major city in northwestern India.

The crash killed all but one of the 241 people aboard the flight, along with at least 29 individuals on the ground.

Hundreds of grieving relatives gathered at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, where they provided DNA samples to help identify the victims of Thursday’s devastating plane crash.

Many of the bodies were severely burned or disfigured, making visual identification impossible.

Rajneesh Patel, a hospital official, confirmed that 32 victims have so far been identified through DNA testing, with families of 14 victims having already received their loved ones’ remains.

Outside the hospital mortuary, emotional scenes unfolded as relatives waited for authorities to complete the necessary procedures and transfer the bodies, now in coffins, into waiting ambulances.

Frustration grew among families over the pace of the process, though officials say DNA matching typically takes up to 72 hours and efforts are underway to accelerate it.

As the nation grapples with the aftermath of one of its worst aviation tragedies, the Indian government has launched a high-level inquiry into the cause of the crash.

The Civil Aviation Ministry announced on Saturday, June 14, 2025, that the committee will also develop strategies to better respond to and prevent future aviation emergencies.

In response to the incident, Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu announced that Air India’s entire Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet is being subjected to immediate inspection.

Speaking during his first press briefing since the June 12 crash, Kinjarapu said eight of the 34 Dreamliners in service across India have already been inspected, with the rest undergoing urgent review.

Meanwhile, investigators recovered the aircraft’s digital flight data recorder commonly referred to as the black box on Friday.

It was located on a rooftop near the crash site and is expected to shed light on the aircraft’s engine performance, control settings, and cockpit communications.

Paul Fromme, a mechanical engineer from the U.K.’s Institution of Mechanical Engineers, noted that the voice recordings could be key to understanding the final moments before the crash.

The aircraft involved was 12 years old. While Boeing has faced multiple safety concerns across various models, experts note that this marks the first fatal crash involving a 787 Dreamliner in the aircraft’s 16-year history.

Currently, about 1,200 Dreamliners are in operation worldwide.