New Delhi, India – India has officially responded to a recent report from the United Kingdom alleging significant errors in the identification of British nationals killed in the tragic Air India flight 171 crash. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday stated that it is actively working with UK authorities to address these “concerns and issues.”
The fatal crash of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, claimed the lives of all but one of the 242 people on board, as well as 19 individuals on the ground, bringing the total fatalities to 260. Among the deceased were 52 British citizens. The aircraft lost power and crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad, en route to London.
Disturbing Claims Emerge from UK Report
Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper reported on Tuesday that the remains of at least two British victims were wrongly identified before being repatriated to the UK. In one particularly distressing instance, a family reportedly had to cancel funeral arrangements upon discovering that the coffin they received contained the body of an unidentified individual, not their loved one.
The report further highlighted another alarming case where the “commingled” remnants of more than one person killed in the crash were mistakenly placed in the same casket. These mixed remains had to be painstakingly separated before the planned internment could proceed last weekend, causing further anguish to the bereaved family.
These identification blunders reportedly came to light when the Inner West London coroner initiated efforts to verify the identities of the repatriated bodies by matching DNA with samples provided by the victims’ families.
India’s Assurance Amidst Ongoing Investigations
Responding to the Daily Mail’s report, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal affirmed that Indian authorities are collaborating closely with their UK counterparts. Jaiswal’s statement came just hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a two-nation tour, including a visit to the UK and the Maldives.
“We have seen the report and have been working closely with the UK side from the moment these concerns and issues were brought to our attention,” Jaiswal stated. He emphasized that in the aftermath of the “tragic crash,” the concerned authorities had carried out victim identification “as per established protocols and technical requirements,” asserting that “all mortal remains were handled with utmost professionalism and with due regard for the dignity of the deceased.”
He reiterated, “We are continuing to work with the UK authorities on addressing any concerns related to this issue.”
The Daily Mail report indicates that a top-level inquiry into the matter is already underway in both the UK and India. It also suggests that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is “expected to raise concerns” with Prime Minister Modi during his visit to Britain. Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to be in the UK from July 23-24 for meetings with Starmer and King Charles III, with the formal signing of a bilateral free trade agreement slated as a key highlight of the visit.