Bodies of UIA plane crash victims to be returned from Iran after DNA tests - Prystaiko

11.01.2020 10:22

Ukrinform

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko believes that it is still premature to talk about how soon the bodies of the victims of a Ukraine International Airlines plane crash in Iran can be returned to their relatives, including to Ukraine.

He said this at a briefing in Kyiv on Friday, January 10, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Among Ukrainian specialists who stay in Tehran, there are physicians who have access to all bodies to compare DNA information that was transmitted from Ukraine there electronically," Prystaiko said.

According to him, the bodies will be returned after DNA tests.

"Now all the bodies [...] have been transported to all hospitals in Tehran. And these are not only Ukrainians. There are 11 Ukrainians. All teams must have DNA to compare. It's a job to find everyone's relatives. UIA, which bears direct responsibility, is working very actively. There is an interaction. But it is very difficult to say exactly how long it can take," the minister said.

A Ukraine International Airlines plane (flight PS752), en route from Tehran to Kyiv, crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport early on January 8.

There were 176 people on board the aircraft. All of them died. The crash killed 11 Ukrainians (two passengers and all nine crew), 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, ten Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three Britons.