Air India crash: Families of Mumbai-based crew still await remains
So far, only 119 victims of the fatal crash have been identified through DNA matching, and 76 bodies have been handed over to their families, officials said. The families of some of the crew members have received a DNA match, but are still awaiting clearance to take the bodies back home.
The funerals of captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 55, and flight attendant Maithili Patil, 22, will be held in the early hours of Tuesday at their respective homes—Sabharwal's at his home in Powai and then a crematorium at Chakala, and Patil's at her village in Nhava.
The family of first officer Clive Kunder will have to wait a bit more. 'A few bones of Clive's were identified, but clearance to take his body has not yet been received. It might take a day or two more,' said Brian Miranda, a former corporator who is in touch with a close family friend. Kunder's family plans are to take his remains to the Our Lady of Egypt Church in Kalina, where he was a parishioner, and then to the Sewri Christian Cemetery.
Similarly, the Dombivli-based family of flight attendant Roshni Songhare lies in wait. Rajendra Songhare, her father, said, 'The DNA sample was matched, and we are now waiting to collect the body. Yet to get any official communication about the same.'
Meanwhile, the DNA sampling results of Badlapur-based flight attendant Deepak Pathak are still awaited. His two sisters—Varsha and Shruti—are currently in Ahmedabad, anxiously awaiting the test results that might help identify his remains. Both married and based in different parts of Mumbai, they had rushed to Ahmedabad as soon as they learned he might have been involved in the air crash. 'They are determined to bring him home—whatever form that may be,' said a close family friend.
Back in Badlapur, Deepak's father, Balasaheb Pathak, continues to hold on to hope. Despite his frail health and recent hospitalisation, he refuses to believe that his son is gone. 'He hasn't spoken much, but he sits quietly by the phone, still expecting a call from Deepak,' said a family member. The hope remains alive—however faint—that some miracle might still bring closure to the Pathak family.
With inputs from PTI
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