Bhubaneswar: As per the plans of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bhubaneswar opened a DNA testing center on Monday night for the identification of the passengers who died in the three-train accident at Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha’s Balasore on June 2.
BMC Commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange told the media on Tuesday that the DNA testing center has started operation and the family members of those who died in the accident can give samples for DNA testing and match the DNA samples there. “Already blood samples of ten people have been collected and DNA testing is underway at the AIIMS,” he said.
Once the DNA samples are matched, the AIIMS authorities will follow the due procedures to hand over the body to the family members.
Meanwhile, the BMC as well as doctors at the AIIMS said that the process of DNA tests has just begun and it will take some time to complete the process. In the meantime, the unidentified bodies have been stored in refrigerated containers on the AIIMS premises.
According to Kulange, most of the bodies are so mutilated that the family members are finding it difficult to identify them. In one case, two claimants came forward for one body.
“More than 64 bodies have been identified so far with help from their relatives. We have dispatched 40 bodies to their destinations. However, we are now facing issues in the identification of some disfigured bodies. In such cases, we have to go for DNA tests,” Kulange said.
The BMC said the family members/relatives/friends who are unable to identify the body of their kin who died in the train accident can contact them over the phone at 918280346629 for assistance.
Meanwhile, some confusion prevails at the AIIMS as people who have come from outside the state to claim the bodies of their relatives are unable to trace the bodies even after identifying them on the large LED screen at the hospital.
