Kin of 3 Filipinos in MH17 tragedy provide DNA samples to probers

By: Matikas Santos - 10 years ago

Linda Pabellon, left, and Tirso Pabellon, sister and brother respectively of Irene Pabellon Gunawan, one of three Filipinos who perished in the Malaysia Airlines MH17 passenger plane crash over the pro-Russian rebel stronghold in East Ukraine Thursday, leave the Department of Foreign Affairs after obtaining their passports Monday, July 21, 2014 at suburban Pasay city south of Manila, Philippines. AP

MANILA, Philippines—The relatives of the three Filipinos who perished in Malaysian flight MH17 tragedy have provided DNA samples to help in the identification of their kin’s remains.

“Our embassy learned that the sister in the Netherlands and her daughter already provided their DNA samples to Dutch authorities,” Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Charles Jose said in a briefing Wednesday.

“The dental records of the Gunawan couple have also been obtained. The corresponding records of the children are being obtained,” he said.

The three Filipinos who perished in the crash in Ukraine, identified as Irene Gunawan, 54, and her two children Sherryl Shania Gunawan, 14, and Darryl Dwight Gunawan, 20, were supposed to be heading to the Philippines for a family reunion.

Irene’s Indonesian husband also perished on the plane that was carrying 298 people including the airline crew. MH17 crashed in Ukraine last July 17 after leaving Amsterdam heading for Kuala Lumpur.

“Once the identity of a body is made by the Dutch and international forensics team, the ministry will inform the next of kin if they wish to view and confirm the identity of the deceased relative,” Jose said.

“The ministry is initially working on a timeframe of one month before the identities of all the bodies and body parts may be determined and the next of kin will be invited to view the remains of the deceased relative although the process may take possibly longer,” he said.