Thiruvananthapuram: The search for bodies has ended, the cockpit voice recorder has been found, financial assistance has been announced, and the public attention is waning.

What hasn't stopped are the sobs coming out of every other village in Kasaragod, Kerala's northern-most district.

The final count is yet to come in, but it is clear that more than 50 Keralites, a large majority of them from Kasaragod, and many of them the financial pillars of their middle and lower-income families, perished in the Air India Express flight that crashed on the table-top runway of the Bajpe airport in Mangalore on Sunday morning.

DNA results

While those families that had received the bodies of their nearest and dear had gone through the religious rituals of their faith, almost two dozen others were going through another harrowing ordeal: on top of the loss of their loving ones, they were having to wait for the DNA results to identify the bodies before the last rites could be undertaken.

Relatives of passengers who died in the crash had thronged the premises of the Wenlock hospital in Mangalore, hoping to give some definitive identity to have the bodies of their kin released.

But some bodies had been burnt beyond recognition, and at least two bodies had two sets of claimants, necessitating DNA tests.

It is estimated that the DNA results may take at least a week to a fortnight, until which time some 22 families will have had to bear the added agony of waiting for the bodies.

Depending on which bereaved family you choose to visit in Kasaragod, the mind-numbing pain being experienced by the family members may vary.

But the common thread that runs through all cases is the shock of having to stomach such a stunning loss at the blink of an eye.

Air India authorities have announced the services of counsellors to help the seven survivors and hundreds of family members of those who died, to come to terms with the loss.

But it is quite evident that for many, it would be a life-long pain to nurse.

Take the case of Siddique Sulaiman, a sales person who took the flight to go to Kasaragod from Dubai to attend the last rites of his father.

Fought for seat

Siddique had a tough time getting a seat on the ill-fated plane, which turned out to be the ticket to death.

For his family, this was the path to a tragedy of indescribable proportion to add to the demise of his father.

Many Keralites in the UAE who are from north Kerala have found the flights to Mangalore a convenient one, considering that it takes them closer to their homes than the Kozhikode airport.

Local people say that the frequency of visits of many non-resident Keralites from Kasaragod and Kannur had gone up, following the elevation of the Mangalore airport to an international airport a few years ago.