The families of the Ethiopian Airlines crash received red coffins of their loved ones, some of the coffins had charred remains of the plane and soil from the crash site.
Authorities have not been able to recover the bodies successfully as yet, and many couldn’t be identified, as they were charred beyond recognition. Authorities said it could take upto six months to identify the remains.
Relatives of 36 Kenyan victims and relatives of diplomats from more than 30 countries paid their respects at an Ethiopian Orthodox church in the city.
Families mourning the victims were offered a 1kg (2.2lbs) bag of charred soil to bury as part of Sunday’s service in the Ethiopian capital. Many relatives asked for at least some body parts to get full closure.
Blood relatives of the crash victims were asked to provide DNA samples in Addis Ababa or at any overseas offices of Ethiopian Airlines.
The Ethiopian investigation into the crash is being assisted by teams from around the world, including the US and France. The aircraft’s flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder (black boxes) have been recovered and investigators are hopeful that it will shed light on the tragedy.
157 people were on board the Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302, a Boeing 737 MAX 8. It crashed soon after taking off from Addis Ababa on the 10th of March 2019.