All 156 passengers on flight AI 379 had been escorted from the plane, in line with emergency plans, an Airports of Thailand official said. The aircraft took off from Phuket airport bound for the Indian capital at 9.

Authorities have now started to hand over the remains of the victims of one of India’s worst aviation disasters after identifying some through DNA tests.

Distraught relatives waited at Ahmedabad’s main hospital to claim the bodies of their loved ones for funerals.