Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Some 20 dead bodies of the Havelian air crash belonging to Chitral have been left at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) because of the close down of the Lowari Top Tunnel following a heavy snowfall, the PIA had also suspended flights after the incident.

The DNA test was not carried out so far of the dead bodies that belonged to Chitral. The relatives of the left over deceased persons have started making a hue and cry at the hospital as they are forced to live day and night under an open sky in the premises of the PIMS – as the winter season is also in full swing in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Those who are waiting to receive the dead bodies of their dear ones told this scribe that with the passage of time their problems were increasing as Chitral ,which is the largest district of KP, covers a total land of 14,297 square kilometres.

They said it would be quite tough for them to reach their native villages with dead bodies from Chitral Airport as the only road link between Chitral and other parts of the country was the Lowari Top Tunnel, which has remained closed for almost four to five months.

The air passage is the only way to reach there but the PIA has suspended the flight operation to Chitral after the air crash. They affirmed that after completing the DNA tests, the bodies of the affected air crash victims would be handed over to them as early as possible and special helicopters would be arranged for them to take the bodies to their native areas.

Some 47 people died in the crash of PIA’s Flight No 661 on December 7, 2016, at Havelian, when a domestic passenger ATR -42 type aeroplane owned by the national airlines was coming from Chitral to Islamabad.

After the accident all the dead bodies were brought to the PIMS Islamabad for the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Test.

The hospital administration, after completing the DNA tests, handed 27 dead bodies to their kith and kin and kin, while 20 corpses remain in the hospital. Out of these 20 bodies, approximately 18 bodies are kept in a cold storage at Rawat while two are available in the mortuary of the PIMS.

When Daily Times contacted Dr Altaf, the Administrator of the PIMS, he said that it was wrong perception that the hospital management was not doing the DNA tests of the dead bodies that were left there. He said that they had sent the DNA samples to the official laboratory adding that as and when their reports would be received, the dead bodies would be handed over to their relatives.

He did not mention the name of the laboratory but told this scribe that they were doing their best to hand over the dead bodies to the family members, but the process of identification through the DNA tests was taking its time. However, he assured that whenever anybody would be identified, he/she would be given to the relatives without wasting time.