Spanair victims may never be identified

The remains of many victims of last week’s Spanair crash will probably never be identified, according to a public statement by Spanish authorities. Highlighting the horrific nature of an air crash near Madrid which killed 153 on the airplane, Spain’s interior minister, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, told journalists that he was not certain yet whether it will be possible to identify all of the human remains. It has not been possible to conduct DNA tests so far in some cases and many of the remains are so badly burned that identification is all but impossible. Spanish authorities are now trying to retrieve DNA samples from relatives in order to help their investigation. Only 96 of the 153 bodies have been identified thus far, even though the fatal crash took place six days ago.

As an added piece of sad news, the total death toll increased to 154 earlier today, when a passenger in serious condition died in hospital after suffering severe burns covering 72 percent of her body. Although most of the 17 passengers still being treated in hospital are likely to recover, two of them are believed to be in critical condition. While the inquiry into what caused the crash is still on-going, investigators are now considering the possibility of engine power failure during take-off and are reportedly using video evidence in order to piece together what may have transpired.

Thank you to Australian’s The Age for the initial report.