AI-171 crash: India dismisses British media report that UK families received wrong bodies of victims

India on Wednesday dismissed a report in the British media claiming that two families in the UK received wrong bodies of victims of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said all mortal remains were handled with utmost professionalism and with due regard for the dignity of the deceased.

"We have seen the report and have been working closely with the UK side from the moment these concerns and issues were brought to our attention," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

"In the wake of the tragic crash, the concerned authorities had carried out identification of victims as per established protocols and technical requirements," he said.

Jaiswal was responding to media queries regarding a report in the Daily Mail on the 12 June AI-171 crash in which 241 people on board were killed, including 53 British nationals.

The British newspaper, citing versions of two unnamed families, claimed that the repatriation of Britons killed in the crash has been "horrifically bungled".

Bereaved families are suffering fresh heartache because the remains of their loved ones were wrongly identified before being flown home, it alleged.