London-bound Air India plane crash victims’ inquests postponed over difficulties identifying remains

Some 169 Indian passengers and 52 British nationals were killed and after the crash

Openings for inquests into the deaths of two victims of the Air India crash that killed 241 people last year were delayed as their remains could not be identified, a court has heard.

The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical college shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport last June 12 (2025) killing everyone on board other than Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. He is a 40-year-old businessman and was the sole passenger to survive. Vishwashkumar Ramesh survived the crash by unbuckling his seatbelt and crawling out through a sudden opening in the aircraft’s fuselage. He was seated in seat 11A, an emergency exit row seat near the front of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which aviation experts note is close to the “wing box” – one of the strongest structural parts of an airplane.

Some 169 Indian passengers and 52 British nationals were killed and after the crash a number of people were repatriated to the UK, including a woman whose body was sent to Britain under a different name and a man whose remains were sent “mixed” with those of another person.

On Tuesday, senior coroner Professor Fiona Wilcox opened and adjourned the inquest into the death of the woman, who has now been identified as 70-year-old Indian national Vasuben Narendrasinh Raj.

She told an online hearing of Inner West London Coroner’s Court that Ms Raj’s remains were sent to the UK under another name, but when they were tested it was confirmed they were not of that person.

Westminster Public Mortuary then sent the remains for DNA testing and the results were provided to Indian authorities who identified them as those of Ms Raj.

Prof Wilcox also opened and adjourned the inquest into the death of the man, who has still not been identified.

“After extensive examination of these remains, this victim was separated and identified from the remains of the other person that he was mixed with,” Prof Wilcox said. “We have sent palm prints and DNA to India in an attempt to identify this gentleman but to date we have had no confirmation as to his name or any of the other registration that the court is able and required to find.”

Inquests for most of those repatriated were opened last year, the court heard, and Prof Wilcox said it was “obviously very unusual” to open inquests nearly a year after death.

“There have been extensive inquiries ongoing in the background and we have only recently been able to make contact with the son of Ms Raj,” she said.

“The identity of the unidentified male remains outstanding. I hope that identification will be forthcoming.”

Detective Inspector Mike Buck told the 15-minute hearing: “We have been working for some time with British High Commission in India to make those identifications.”

The coroner said full inquests will be heard when the results of the ongoing investigation into the crash by Indian authorities is completed.