Rescue teams collect 20 bags of body parts

Islamabad: Despite heavy monsoon rains in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, rescue teams collected 20 bags of body parts, identity cards and valuable of the victims of Airblue's ill-fated ED 202, that crashed while preparing for landing in thickly forested Margalla Hills.

"Due to inclement weather, helicopter service was far from possible and no headway could be made in finding the vital black box of the Airbus 321," Capital Development Authority official Mohammad Akram told Gulf News from the scene of accident.

He ruled out recovery of more bodies from the wreckage site.

Airblue passenger list

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani told a Senate session here that 78 bodies have been identified using various methods including thumb impression stored with the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA).

The government also announced compensation of $5,800 (Dh21,300) for families of the victims.

Families of the plane crash victims spent another day in agony and waiting for the bodies of their loved as the government sought one week's minimum for DNA testing before handing over the unrecognisable body parts of over 74 victims of the crash.

The relatives and friends of victims shouted slogans against the government for inefficient management and poor facilitation for the transfer of bodies and retrieval of blood sample for ascertainment of DNA samples.

Faced with angry protests by the victims' families, Interior Minister Rehman Malek announced that the government would provide transportation for the bodies to remote parts of the country.