Ahmedabad plane crash: ‘Strong odour from bodies, moved them to new mortuary’

Yet to be inaugurated, the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital’s new mortuary has been pressed into service to accommodate the remains of the victims from the deadly plane crash on June 12. The hospital’s old mortuary building has limited cold storage capacity and was overcrowded, said officials. 

“We shifted all the bodies to the new mortuary on Saturday morning due to overcrowding in the old facility. The old mortuary had limited cold storage, and the number of bodies exceeded its capacity. The new mortuary was ready but not yet inaugurated. Given the emergency, we opened it and moved all the remains there,” a hospital official said. 

“There was a strong, unpleasant odour in the old mortuary due to inadequate storage, which was also affecting the condition of the bodies. Most of the victims were severely burnt, requiring immediate transfer,” the official added.

The Municipal Corporation, along with the Collector, Revenue Department, and other agencies, also arranged food and accommodation facilities for the victims’ families.