One year after the devastating Air India crash that claimed 158 lives, British families are demanding answers after it emerged an unknown body was placed in a coffin meant for a loved one. The revelation has reignited grief for relatives who thought their ordeal was over. According to documents obtained by this paper, the body of a man in his 60s was mistakenly identified as that of 34-year-old Londoner James Hamilton, whose family held a funeral and burial for the stranger.
The error came to light only when DNA tests, ordered by the coroner for unrelated reasons, showed a mismatch. The Hamilton family, from Sheffield, say they feel ‘violated’ and have called for a public inquiry. ‘We buried a stranger.
Our real James is lost somewhere, alone,’ said his mother, Patricia Hamilton. The Air India flight, en route from Delhi to Birmingham, crashed into the Irish Sea in May last year. Recovery efforts were hampered by strong currents and depth.
Of the 158 victims, 14 were British. The UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch has launched an internal review, but families say this is too little, too late. The cost of funerals, already a burden on working-class households, has become a cruel twist.
‘We paid for a funeral for someone else. That money could have gone to our real son’s memorial,’ said Patricia. The government has faced mounting pressure to ensure proper identification protocols.
Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, Khalid Mahmood, has tabled a question in Parliament demanding an independent audit of the identification process. Meanwhile, the families are left with a bitter truth: they may never know the fate of their loved ones.
