318 remains found in Gujarat air crash; DNA tests on

Ahmedabad: It will take a few more days to determine the exact number of victims in the Air India Ahmedabad–London flight crash, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik said on Thursday. A total of 318 bodies and body parts have been recovered from the site and sent for forensic examination.

"We don't have the exact casualty count as DNA examinations are still on to ascertain identities. In all, we have sent 318 bodies and body parts for DNA testing, which also include samples from missing people. Until we get the whole result, it won't be proper to state the exact number," Malik said during a press conference.

Air India's AI 171, carrying 241 people including crew members, crashed into the hostel buildings of BJ Medical College, killing all on board. On Wednesday, the state government confirmed for the first time that 19 people on the ground also died, including four MBBS students and four members of doctors' families who were residing there. The government reported that 71 people sustained injuries.

By Thursday evening, DNA samples of 215 deceased had been matched, and 198 bodies were handed over to their families.

Malik said the police recovered over 100 cell phones from the crash site, which are completely or partially burnt. The phones have been sent to the forensic science laboratory to extract data.

"We want to see if these phones have recordings at the time of the crash," he said, adding that that investigation into what caused the accident was being done by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), while the police had filed a case of accidental death, conducted the inquest panchnama and completed other formalities.

Malik also praised everyone involved in the rescue and response efforts, describing the operation as "exemplary and historic".