NEW DELHI - Fifty-two bodies from India's deadly train crash on June 2 haven't been identified yet and they will be cremated soon, said a senior government representative on Friday.
Nearly 300 people died in the crash, in which two passenger trains and one goods train collided in the eastern state of Odisha, resulting in one of the worst train accidents in the country's recent history.
Most of the dead bodies were damaged beyond recognition, and their DNA samples were sent for identification. Out of the total 81 bodies, DNA samples could be matched for 29 only. The dead bodies have been kept at a hospital in Odisha's state capital Bhubaneswar for nearly 28 days.
Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation Mayor Sulochana Das on Friday told reporters that there were many claimants so bodies could not be given.
"The samples were sent to Delhi and 29 have been confirmed. Five families have come to take the bodies," private news agency ANI quoted her as saying.
According to government orders, a hassle-free cremation process has to be conducted, and the bodies need to be transferred to their native areas.
"The bodies which are not claimed will also be cremated. For that, we have prepared two cremation grounds," Das said. - XINHUA