ALGIERS: Identifying remains of victims of the Air Algerie AH5017 crash is a complex matter partly due to the bodies’ state of decay, according to experts.
The Spanish Swiftair plane chartered by Air Algerie carrying 116 people on board crashed last Thursday in northern Mali en route from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso to Algiers.
All passengers and crew, including six Algerians and 54 French nationals, were killed in the crash.
An Algerian forensic team arrived last Friday at the crash scene in Gossi and is working closely with its Malian and French counterparts to collect evidence to determine the cause of the crash and to identify victims.
Experts said Thursday that in such circumstances, the investigators are obliged to use DNA analysis to identify the bodies of victims.
The process of identifying the victims was at the centre of a telephone conversation Wednesday between Algeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ramtane Lamamra and French counterpart Laurent Fabius.
Their discussion focused on the necessary cooperation among countries involved in the crash for completing the identification process of victims in the best conditions possible, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Thursday.
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has received messages of condolence from leaders of many countries following the crash.
–BERNAMA-NNN-APS