Relatives endure a terrible task

DUBAI // More than 160 relatives of crash victims were flown from the UAE to Mangalore yesterday to begin the harrowing task of trying to identify the bodies of their loved ones. The first special Air India flight from Dubai carrying relatives landed at Mangalore at 7.30am local time. They had been delayed by nearly 14 hours due to technical problems and the brief closure of Mangalore airport.

The relatives were taken from one hospital to another. Some described how they had to identify what were charred remains by their clothes and jewellery. The families then cremated identified bodies one after the other. For those who could not be identified, the authorities said DNA test results would be available in two days. Reports said all 158 bodies were recovered. Apu Marakala said the body of his childhood friend, Shailesh Rao, was identified by his wife, Manisha, 31 hours after the crash.

"She is crying so much," said Mr Marakala, from the family home in Udipi. "He wore blue jeans and a particular t-shirt. There was a mark on his leg that helped her recognise him." Manisha Rao arrived in Mangalore from Abu Dhabi yesterday morning to join the search for her husband. "The bodies that were intact were taken away almost immediately," said Mr Marakala. "But there are so many bodies that are in very bad shape, badly burned with legs or heads missing. It is so bad, so awful - you cannot bear to see this."

Mr Rao, who lived in the UAE for eight years and worked for Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Khalifa Hospital, boarded the ill-fated flight after being informed of his mother's death in Udipi. "He came for his mother's cremation and he died. The family ran around nine hospitals trying to find him," said Mr Marakala, who accompanied relatives in their search. "We thought we would cremate both Shailesh and his mother together. But it was so difficult to find him, so we decided not to postpone his mother's cremation." Others spoke of the trauma of cremating entire families. PR Karanth said his wife was inconsolable once the bodies of her brother, sister-in-law and niece were taken to their Mangalore home.

K Narayan Rao, 50, his wife K Vani Narayan, 42, and their 12-year-old daughter, K Vaishnavi, all perished. "It is too much for her," said Mr Karanth. "Her brother's entire family is wiped out. There is no one left. I have finished the final rites for all three today." Mr Karanth believed that he was able to identify the family because they may have been flung out of the plane when it broke up. "They were not burnt like the others," he said.

"It is a very difficult time for us. It is difficult to identify bodies of people who are so close, but what can be done?" said Mr Karanth. Ashwin Salian, a relative of 15-year old victim Akshay Bolar, said his family had identified the wrong body. "We thought we found Akshay, but it turned out to someone else. We are now looking again," he said. "Bodies are scattered all over the place and are kept in different hospitals. We were assured that they would all be brought to a central hospital today."

Akshay's mother, Ashita, and his grandmother, Prabhavati Karkare, who also died in the crash, were cremated. Around five more relatives flew to Mangalore from Dubai last night. "We issued free tickets to more than 160 people. We continue our regular operations and flights are now landing at the Mangalore airport as scheduled," said Abhay Pathak, the regional manager for Air India in the UAE. [e-mail]