days after the Air India flight crashed and killed at least 270 people in Gujarat state, officials said Sunday. The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after take-off Thursday, killing 241 people onboard and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived.nHundreds of relatives of the crash victims provided DNA samples at the hospital. Most of the bodies were charred or mutilated, making them unrecognisable.

Rajneesh Patel, an official at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, said authorities have so far identified 32 victims through DNA mapping and their families were informed. He said the remains of 14 victims were handed over to relatives.

The victims’ families waited outside the hospital mortuary as authorities worked to complete formalities and transfer the bodies in coffins into ambulances. Most of them have expressed frustration at a slow pace of the identification process. Authorities say it normally takes up to 72 hours to complete DNA matching and they are expediting the process.

Alongside the formal investigation, the Indian government has set up a high-level committee to examine the causes leading to the crash. The committee will focus on formulating procedures to prevent and handle aircraft emergencies in the future, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement Saturday. (Jamaica Gleaner)