Goa, Jan. 19 -- Air India on Monday said it has begun returning personal belongings of victims from the AI-171 crash, nearly seven months after the tragedy that killed 260 people in one of India's worst aviation disasters in decades. The airline said around 22,000 items were recovered and catalogued on a dedicated portal. Of these, about 8,000 have been linked to specific individuals, while the remaining 14,000 could not be directly associated.

An Air India spokesperson said the process is being handled with dignity and sensitivity, in coordination with an external partner. The exercise began on January 5 and will continue until mid-February. Families have been contacted through email and a dedicated website, and several have already col...