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Nearly half of the bodies of those who lost their lives in the deadly plane crash in the Cuban capital of Havana have been identified and handed over to the relatives, the National Institute of Forensic Medicine confirmed late Tuesday.
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So far, 50 bodies have been handed over to relatives, including four Mexican crew members, said Sergio Rabell, head of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine.
A total of seven Mexican nationals were on board — six crew members, and one tourist. Families of the crew members have arrived in Havana and relatives of the Mexican tourist are on their way, said Enrique Martíne y Martínez, Mexican Ambassador to Cuba.
Taniel Garcia's 32-year-old sister was one of the Mexican crew members aboard. Garcia arrived in Havana a day after the catastrophic plane crash, and he is currently waiting for the final identification results.
"We know the process of identifying bodies is not easy, it takes time, and we have to wait. We are now waiting for the DNA results and other data for confirmation," he said.
Enrique Martínez y Martínez said Mexico is working with Cuba to investigate the plane crash and one of the two black boxes has been recovered.
"I want to thank the Cuban government, the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Cuban Civil Aviation authority for their joint efforts to deal with such a disaster. Because of their efforts, we can do our best in identifying the victims," he said.
The director of Havana's Calixto Garcia hospital Dr. Carlos Alberto Martinez, said Tuesday that the two survivors had regained consciousness, are aware of their conditions, can communicate and follow specific instructions from the medical team, but continue to be quite critical.
A Boeing 737 plane, owned by Mexican company Damojh and leased by Cubana de Aviacion, crashed Friday near Jose Marti International Airport in Havana with 113 people on board.
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