It has been six days since one of the worst train accidents in Indian history happed in Balasore, Odisha. The tracks have since been cleared, and the Coromandel Express has resumed its journey.
But closure is still far away for many relatives of the passengers on the two-ill-fated trains.
At least 19 families in Bihar are still waiting to learn what happened to their loved ones who were travelling on the Coromandel Express on June 2.
While 50 people from the state have died in the twin crash, Bihar Disaster Management Department said that at least 19 people are still missing.
The missing 19 Bihar passengers on board, the Coromandel Express, include four from Madhubani district, Darbhanga (2), Muzaffarpur (2), East Champaran (2), Samastipur (2), Sitamarhi (1), Patna (1), Gaya (1), Purnea (1), Sheikhpura (1), Siwan (1) and Begusarai (1), said a statement issued by the Disaster Management department.
This is not just limited to the 19 families or Bihar; many more relatives of passengers who were on board the trains are struggling to gather clues about the bodies of their loved ones.
At All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, dozens of bodies remain in the morgue as they have not been identified.
Of 288 bodies, 193 were sent to Bhubaneswar, and 94 bodies were handed over in Balasore. The body of one person who died while undergoing treatment for his injuries in Bhadrak Hospital was handed over to a relative.
Out of the 193 bodies which were sent to Bhubaneswar, 110 have been identified and 83 are still to be identified.
Due to the horrific crash, many of the bodies have been disfigured beyond recognition, leaving the grieving families without a means to identify the bodies.
Authorities are now relying on DNA tests to identify the bodies, which will take 7-8 days for the reports to be shared.
A victim's father, while talking to ANI, said that the hospital has denied giving him his son's body as his DNA report is still pending.
"My son died in the accident. There were three more people with him. Two have been found and one is in the hospital. I have found my son here but they have denied to handover his body. I identified my son by a thread tied to his hand. They will hand over the body only after the DNA report is out. I have no money with me to eat, I am here to take my son's body with me," he said.
Many people have returned to their homes after submitting their DNA samples as there were no arrangements for them to stay back, while some of them have lost hope of getting the bodies of their relatives and are planning to go home.
"They are saying that they have not found my brother's body yet. Now, I am thinking to return to my home. I have tried as much as I could have done, but it's three days now. I have submitted my DNA and have been asked to go back," the brother of a victim said.
Several cases of wrongly identified bodies have been given to others before the families could claim them.
The family of Manoj Kisku from Jharkhand has claimed that his body was given to the kin of Manohar Manjhi from Muzaffarpur in Bihar after he was wrongly identified only using the colour of his shirt.
The family of Hansraj Kumar from Jharkhand's Dumka is claiming his body was handed over to the relatives of Ramesh Murmu of Bhagalpur, Bihar.
For more on news, sports and current affairs from around the world, please visit?Indiatimes News.