Seven more bodies of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash victims have been identified on Wednesday via DNA process.
The bodies have been identified during the DNA identification process at a Karachi University (KU) forensic lab. The authorities have approached the victim families so that they could collect bodies of their loved ones.
Overall 46 victims of the plane crash have been identified so far of which 37 of them were identified by the families. “Seven people have been identified using DNA process while two others were recognized through their national identity cards (NICs).
It is pertinent to mention here that Sindh Information Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said on Tuesday that the DNA tests of the victims of crashed PIA’s PK-8303 will be completed within 10 days.
Nasir Hussain Shah, while addressing a press conference alongside the Sindh minister Saeed Ghani, said that the local administration had timely responded the crash incident as rescue activities were immediately begun at the site.
He said that the personnel of armed forces and Rangers had fully supported the police forces in the rescue operation. Shah said that Eidul Fitr was observed with simplicity due to coronavirus pandemic and PIA plane crash incident.
The minister added that the DNA reports will be handed over to the families of the victims within 10 days. Regarding the COVID-19 situation, Nasir Hussain Shah said that the public should continue following the precautionary guidelines for more days.
Meanwhile, A team of Airbus, arrived in Karachi on Tuesday to assist the probe in recent air crash of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-8303, visited the site of the crash again on Wednesday.
A team of 11 French experts landed in Karachi on a special Airbus 338 visited the location of the plane crash in Karachi.
Except two survivors, all 97 passengers and crew members of the aircraft that crashed into a residential area near Karachi airport were confirmed dead. However, no resident of the Model Colony’s Jinnah Garden, where the plane crashed, was among the deceased.
The Airbus experts reached the plane crash location and expected to analyse the wreckage and collect samples with equipment. The team will also get assistance of drone cameras to inquire into the incident.
The team of experts expected to focus on search of the cockpit voice recorder of the aircraft which was not traced so far.
According to sources the French team has extended its stay in Pakistan for five more days due to the untraced voice recorder of the flight.
A spokesperson of PIA said that the cockpit voice recorder of the ill-fated PK-8303 was not recovered
The voice recorder which is installed in the rear side of the aircraft was not found by the investigators as yet, said the PIA spokesperson, adding that it is suspected that the voice recorder was dropped far from the crash site as the aircraft’s tail had hit the ground first.
The investigators have expanded the searching area to find out the missing voice recorder. The spokesperson appealed the residents not to put any part of the plane inside their houses. The citizens were also advised to immediately hand over the pieces of aircraft’s wreckage to the officials, investigation team or Rangers’ personnel.
The Airbus experts inspected the wreckage and marks of an attempt of belly landing of the flight at the runway of Karachi airport.
The team has also demanded complete record of one year of the Airbus 320 and also asked the number of times the aircraft was ground. The team also asked about the detail of the repair work on faults according to the checklist and other technical details. The French team on Tuesday got a briefing from the PIA officials and asked about any fault of the alarming system of the airliner.