The process of collecting DNA samples from the families of the victims of the ill-fated PK8303 flight has been completed and the remaining bodies will be handed to the respective families within a period of seven days, said Sindh Health Minister DrAzra Fazal Pechuho, in a statement on Wednesday. The minister noted that so far, about 43 out of 97 bodies were handed over to families after identification, whereas, the health department has sent the remaining 54 bodies and 59 DNA samples of relatives for cross-matching. “In the first phase, DNA profiling of 59 relatives was done and a report regarding the identification of six bodies has been submitted by the forensics,” Pechuho said, adding that the the identified bodies will be handed over to the respective families after legal proceedings today [Wednesday]. She said that the forensic laboratory named International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences, setup in 2019, has the facilities to conduct the process of DNA sampling efficiently and has been working round-the-clock to match samples. “We want to handover the bodies to bereaved families as soon as possible while speeding up the process of DNA sampling,” the minister said, emphasising that the government stands with the families of the deceased during these hard times. Meanwhile, a PIA spokesperson said that the body of senior bureaucrat Khalid Sherdil has been identified and handed over to his family. He said that the PIA chief executive personally contacted and offered condolences to the family of the deceased.
