In one cruel swipe, fate took away all that 13-year-old Rauhan loved the most — his parents and two younger siblings who died in the Air India Express plane crash here on Saturday.
Rauhan, the only surviving member of his family, flew in from Dubai yesterday with his uncle to trace the bodies of his father, mother, five-year-old brother and three-and-a-half-year-old sister at the Government Wenlock hospital mortuary here.
Mohamed Ismail, his uncle, identified Rauhan’s mother from among the badly charred remains. A fatigued Rauhan, however, opted not to enter the mortuary.
DNA experts last evening took Rauhan’s blood samples to establish the identities of his father and siblings as no unclaimed bodies matched the specifications given by Rauhan, his uncle said at the hospital last night.
Ironically, Rauhan’s family was rushing here to attend the funeral of his grandmother, who died on May 21.
The Government Wenlock hospital, which witnessed a swarm of kith and kin of the victims since Saturday, was deserted today as members of the hospital staff were seen cleaning waste in the mortuary premises.
Despite the emotional stress, relatives kept their composure, realising they would have to maintain restraint even when two or three claimants came for a single body.
The ill-fated Air India Express IX-812 overshot the runway after landing at the Mangalore airport, plunged into a ravine and exploded into flames, killing 158 persons.
