A woman who tragically lost her brother in the Air India crash has spoken of the additional anguish inflicted upon her family after they were given the incorrect remains.
The devastating accident claimed the lives of Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, aged 39 and 45, among the 242 victims on June 12 near Ahmedabad airport in India’s Gujarat state.
Arwen, Fiongal’s sister, expressed the family’s deep sorrow and their determination to seek answers from those responsible for misidentifying her dear brother’s remains. This distressing incident follows the harrowing news of a father’s frantic call just before a fatal explosion took his life and that of his daughters.
Earlier this year, Fiongal had appeared on This Morning to discuss the wellness brand he had established with his spouse.
In conversation with the BBC, Arwen conveyed her quest for “closure for the family” and to ensure her brother is treated with “dignity” She harbours concerns that the authorities may have mistakenly cremated his body under another identity, reports The Mirror.
“If that is not possible – because the worst case scenario is that he has been cremated as somebody else – then we need to know that in order to move on,” she stated.
“Somebody mislabelled remains – that has added trauma.”
Arwen criticised the Indian officials for their lack of “forensic protocols” at the site of the disaster, noting that the area was left unsecured for two days following the crash.
“It just can’t happen again,” she insisted. “I think the whole family were and still are in complete disbelief because it is things that happen on the news and to other people. It was shocking and is confusing.”
The Foreign Office has confirmed that it is providing support to the families of British nationals involved in the tragic crash by assigning “dedicated caseworkers”. However, when it comes to the “formal identification of bodies”, the office has stated that this responsibility falls to the Indian authorities.
In a distressing revelation last month, it was reported that some victims were incorrectly identified before being repatriated to the UK. In one harrowing case, relatives preparing for a funeral discovered that the coffin intended for their loved one actually contained the remains of an unidentified passenger.
Moreover, in a grave mix-up, the “co-mingled” remains of multiple victims were erroneously placed together in a single casket, necessitating separation prior to burial.
Among those who perished in the Air India flight 171 disaster, which occurred seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad en route to London Gatwick, were 52 Britons returning home. To date, two cases of mistaken identity have been disclosed, sparking concerns that additional errors may cast further doubt and anguish upon grieving families.