Six of Yeti crash victims’ bodies to undergo DNA tests for identification

KATHMANDU: Six people, who were killed in the Pokhara plane crash on January 15, are yet to be identified. Their identity would be established through the DNA test, said the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital.

The TU Teaching Hospital said that the identity of six of the 48 dead people brought to the hospital for the postmortem are yet to be established.

Identity of 42 dead people has been ascertained through forensic reports and fingerprints, said the Hospital’s forensic expert Dr Tulasi Kandel.

“There were difficulties in ascertaining the identity of six people through forensic reports and fingerprints as their bodies were excessively burnt. So, we have started the process to identify them through their DNA test,” he said.

DNA tests would be carried out in the Nepal Police Laboratory. The process of collecting DNA samples of the deceased and their relatives is underway, he said, adding that it takes at least 22 days to ascertain the identity of them.

On January 15, an aircraft of the Yeti Airlines flying to Pokhara from Kathmandu crashed into the Seti gorge in Pokhara, killing all 72 people onboard the plane including four crew members.

Bodies of 22 people killed in the crash were taken to Pokhara for the examination. RSS