Ethiopia crash victims' DNA samples to be sent for London tests

Ethiopia will send DNA samples taken from the victims of last month’s Boeing Co. 737 Max jet crash for identification tests in London.

The remains of the 157 people who died are currently in a hospital in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopia capital, Musie Yehyies, the spokesman for the transport ministry, said in an interview.

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Human tissue has been gathered by a team led by Interpol and the UK’s Blake Emergency Services, the official said, without saying exactly where the tests will be carried out.

The Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 that crashed south of Addis Ababa on March 10 was carrying 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, 18 Ethiopians including crew members, eight Chinese, eight Italians, and eight United States nationals among others, according to a list provided by Ethiopia’s ruling party-controlled Fana Broadcasting Corporation.

Ethiopian police have been working in collaboration with Interpol and Blake in gathering the remains, according to Musie.

The Commissioner General of Ethiopia’s Federal Police Commission, Endeshaw Tassew, and Foreign Ministry spokesman Nebiat Getachew declined to comment.

Blake and Interpol didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment