DNA tests confirm identities of the sailors; four bodies have been handed over to families
Six out of the nine bodies fished out from the sunken and gutted INS Sindhurakshak have been identified after DNA examinations, while the process of examining the remaining three DNA samples is under way.
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The bodies of four sailors, Liju Lawrence, Tootika Rajesh, Vishnu V and Seetaram Badapalli -- all of non-officer cadre -- were hadnded over to their relatives late on Thursday night from the mortuary of JJ Postmortem Center.
Tragedy on dock: Eighteen sailors died in the explosion that sank the submarine INS Sindhurakshak at the naval dockyard on August 14. File Pic
The identities of the other two submariners that have been identified would be revealed after their families are informed. They are presently kept at at the JJ morgue.
A naval official said on condition of anonymity, “The bodies of the sailors will be handed over to the families for cremation. The Navy has decided not to reveal the identify of the two men at this moment. ”
The DNA results have been given to Cuffe Parade and Colaba police stations, and a copy was submitted to Navy hospital INHS Asvini on Tuesday.
The DNA reports were prepared after minutely studying the femur and tooth samples extracted from the bodies during postmortem procedures, and matching them with the 36 blood samples of relatives of the 18 Navy men feared killed in the mishap onAugust 14.
Scientists at FSL’s biology division are busy cross-verifying the remaining three DNA samples with that of the remaining 24 blood samples of the kin.
Meanwhile, the department of forensic medicine and toxicology, Grant Medical College, has started work on conducting diatom tests on samples collected from the nine bodies, to establish whether the cause of death was drowning.
Full Guard of honour for sailors at their hometowns
MiD DAY has learnt that a full guard of honour has been planned for those who died aboard the ill-fated submarine INS Sindhurakshak, at their hometowns.As per tradition, the honour is held just before a soldier’s body is cremated. And in this case, the ceremonial honour will be held at the native places of the sailors. u00a0Bodies of four of the six identified sailors have already been sent to their families.u00a0
August 14u00a0
The newly-refitted INS Sindhurakshak submarine exploded and sank at the naval dockyard in the city. It was carrying 18 sailors aboard.
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