Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Bodies of 47 ill-fated victims of PIA plane crash have been shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for DNA test.

So far DNA tests of 26 bodies have been carried out while sampling process of the remaining bodies is likely to be completed soon.

The flight crashed on Wednesday after one of its two engines failed on its way to the capital from Chitral.

Non-availability of information about the passengers at information centre set up outside PIMS kept the grieving families in a state of perpetual agony.

PIA has booked 50 rooms in Shalimar hotel for the families of the victims.

The Interior Ministry sources said Chaudhry Nisar has directed district administration and police to be present in PIMS to keep the grieving families updated about facilities and development in terms of the body identification.

Talking to Daily Times, PIMS Vice Chancellor Dr Javed Akram, DNA tests of the family members of the victims are underway. He added that DNA tests of the victims were carried out in Abbottabad and time is required for completion of this process. A list of bodies will be displayed as soon as report is received, he added.

State minister for Capital Administration and Development Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said efforts were being made to identify the bodies and a helpline has also been set up in this regard.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ordered an inquiry into the air crash, Radio Pakistan reported.

The PIA chairman, CEO, the Aviation Division secretary and the Civil Aviation Authority director general briefed him on the accident.

Rescuers, including hundreds of villagers, had overnight pulled charred and smoking remains from the wreckage of the aircraft, parts of which were found hundreds of metres away from the main site in Abbottabad district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. According to media reports, remains of victims are being handed over to surviving relatives after identification.

Meanwhile, PIA spokesman Daniyal Gilani issued a statement saying that “on the directions of Chairman and CEO PIA, an amount of Rs 500,000 cash is being given to the next of kin of each of the 47 persons who lost their lives in the tragic ATR crash, to meet with funeral expenses”.

PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan has called for a high-level inquiry into the crash.

“High level investigation into plane crash should be conducted and inquiry report should also be made public. The report should not be dumped in almirahs like the inquiry reports in the past. Inquiry should be conducted to ascertain if the crash took place due to mistake of pilot or technical fault,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, the United States has expressed grief over the loss of lives in the plane crash.

Addressing media briefing in Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the US Embassy in Islamabad is in touch with Pakistani authorities regarding any assistance in connection with the tragic crash.