With 101 unidentified bodies from Balasore train crash pilling up in different hospitals here, AIIMS Bhubaneswar has started DNA sampling of the claimants, an official said on Tuesday. As many as 10 samples have so far been collected from the claimants, a senior AIIMS official said. The official said there should be no hurry in disposing the bodies, which have been moved to five containers, after DNA sampling as they can be preserved for six months.

A Jharkhand family on Tuesday alleged that they had on Monday identified the body of Upendra Kumar Sharma from the tattoo, but it was handed over to someone else on Tuesday. But, Dr Pravas Tripathy, deputy superintendent of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, said the bodies were being handed over after a detailed inquiry. It is a fact that more than one family have been claiming a single body and for that DNA sampling is being done. He said that it may require 7 to 10 days to get a DNA sampling report.