One was a retired Indian traffic cop, making his first trip to London with his wife for a joyous occasion — the birth of a grandchild. Another, a hotel manager, was returning to Britain with his young family after a quick visit to his mother’s side in India for her heart procedure.

For dozens of others, the idea of boarding a flight wasn’t even in reach — tea sellers, local law clerks, medical students, people who carried on with life in the shadow of the air traffic from the nearby airport.

All were among the more than 260 victims of the Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London’s Gatwick Airport that crashed into the facilities of a nearby medical college on Thursday, moments after take off.

For those left behind, the devastation of their loss was compounded by the torturous scenes that played out at the city’s main hospital. The bodies were so badly damaged that more than 24 hours after the crash, fewer than 10 had been identified and released to their families, officials said.

For the rest, authorities were carrying out DNA tests.

As family members waited to give blood for DNA sampling at the postmortem department of Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital, there was shock, anger and despair. For some relatives, the wait became part vigil — telling anyone and everyone memories of loved ones, so full of life just yesterday and now confined to the mortuary, out of reach.