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 BISHKEK (AFP) — Iran will conduct DNA identification of bodies recovered from a passenger jet that crashed after take-off from Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek, killing 65 people, Kyrgyz health ministry officials told AFP Tuesday.
"Human remains, which rescuers gathered into 65 bags, are almost impossible to identify. Unfortunately, Kyrgyzstan does not have a special service and equipment to make DNA analysis, and Iran offered help," the health ministry's press service said. "One does not have to explain the emotional state of the victims' relatives, so we must conduct DNA tests, identify bodies and hand them over to the victims's families as quickly as possible," officials said. So far, only four of the 65 victims could be identified, "but to rule out mistakes, we decided to send those bodies to Tehran for DNA testing too," the ministry explained, adding that Iran pledged to speed up the process. Many foreigners perished in the crash of the Boeing 737 bound for Tehran that went down a few kilometres from Bishkek airport on Sunday evening. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev ordered a national day of mourning for Tuesday. The crash, just 10 minutes after the plane took off, was the worst in the former Soviet republic in Central Asia since it gained independence. |
