Ahmedabad, India, June 13 (V7N) – In a somber hall in Ahmedabad, grieving families provided DNA samples on Friday as authorities worked to identify relatives missing after a London-bound Air India passenger jet crashed into a residential area.

The Air India 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 people including crew, went down shortly after takeoff on Thursday, smashing into a residential zone. The catastrophic incident killed at least 265 people, both on board and on the ground. Miraculously, only one passenger is confirmed to have survived the fiery impact.

Ashfaque Nanabawa, 40, was among those at the hall, desperately seeking news of his cousin, Akeel Nanabawa, who was on the flight with his wife and three-year-old daughter. He recounted their last conversation just before takeoff. "He called us and he said: 'I am in the plane and I have boarded safely and everything was okay'. That was his last call." Speaking in the early hours of Friday morning, Nanabawa confirmed his family had provided DNA samples but had yet to "identify any of the bodies."

Indian police reported that at least 265 bodies had been recovered from the smoldering crash site, including those from the plane wreckage and the residential buildings and medical staff accommodation that bore the brunt of the impact. The death toll could still rise as search efforts continue.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described the crash as "heartbreaking beyond words." India's Home Minister Amit Shah, who visited the crash site and met with the injured in hospital on Thursday evening, assured that forensic laboratories would "complete the DNA testing in the shortest possible time" and that the final official toll would "be declared only after DNA testing is completed."

On a raised platform, a dozen exhausted doctors meticulously collected samples for the grim task of identification. "We have taken samples of babies and those above 80 years old. I don't have words to explain this," one doctor, who requested anonymity, shared. "As doctors, you're always prepared for the worst right? But this is just overwhelming. Families are crying, looking for answers."

Air India stated that the flight manifest included 169 Indian passengers, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian, along with 12 crew members. The sole confirmed survivor is a British national. At least 24 people on the ground also perished when the jet struck residential buildings.

The sounds of planes overhead echoed in the hall, located near another airport, serving as a stark reminder of the tragedy. "One person came to give the sample... his child, wife and mother were on the flight," the doctor added, expressing the profound grief he witnessed. "What do I even say?"

A woman, too grief-stricken to provide her name, tearfully shared that her son-in-law had been killed. "My daughter doesn't know that he's no more," she said, pleading, "I can't break the news to her, can someone else do that please?"

Friends also arrived, desperate for news. Premal Mehta, 39, from Ahmedabad, clung to hope that his friend Mahesh Jeerawala was still alive. "I am using everything in my power, political contacts, whatever it is, to find him," he said in desperation, supporting his friend's brother as he gave a DNA sample.

Ismail Sheikh, who had celebrated with his London-resident friend just days before his flight back to the UK, recalled taking his friend to the airport 15 years ago when he moved to London with high hopes. "Now I am here," Sheikh said, his eyes filled with tears. "This is unimaginable."

END/WD/RH/