Indian investigators have recovered the digital flight data recorder or the black box of the Air India flight that crashed a day earlier.

The London-bound plane struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday, killing 241 on board and at least 29 on the ground.

DNA tests have confirmed identity of 31 victims and 12 bodies have already been handed over to their families.

A senior doctor says DNA from just 11 victims has been identified so far and cautions it's something that can't be rushed - but families are desperate for regular communication and updates.

Just days after his wife, Bharatiben, succumbed to cancer, Arjun Patoliya visited their native Gujarat village in India last week to fulfill her dying wish of being laid to rest there.

At the hospital in Ahmedabad, family members were giving DNA samples, waiting for official confirmation of their loss in the Air India disaster, and remembering their loved ones.

The deadly crash of an Air India flight carrying more than 240 people on Thursday arrives after years of attempts to turn around the country’s flag carrier — which had been plagued by tragedy and financial losses under prior state ownership.