Ethiopian Airlines Crash Victims’ Families Given Charred Dirt Instead Of Bodies
DUST TO DUST
Families of some of the 157 victims of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 were given handfuls of charred earth at a memorial service on Sunday in lieu of their loved ones’ bodies, according to Reuters. Many of the bodies of those onboard the fatal flight had disintegrated on impact and it may take up to six months to identify what little remains there are. Relatives of those onboard have been asked to give DNA samples to the airline to help identify the remains. “The soil came as it became impossible to identify bodies and hand over remains to family members,” a mourner told the Associated Press. “We will not rest until we are given the real body or body parts of our loved ones.” Ethiopia’s transport minister Dagmawit Moges said at a press conference that it could take “considerable time” to determine the exact cause of the crash. The flight voice and data recorders are being analyzed in Paris. “An investigation of such magnitude requires a careful analysis and considerable time to come up with something concrete,” he said.