New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS) A DNA sample sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory on Wednesday will decide if the missing supervisor of Hotel Arpit Palace is still alive.

Seventeen people were killed in a fire at the hotel in central Delhi's Karol Bagh area on Tuesday morning.

The family members of the missing supervisor believe he is still alive, a police officer said.

"We have identified 16 of the 17 bodies kept for autopsy in three different hospitals. Autopsies on 14 bodies have been conducted by a panel of doctors. Autopsies on two Myanmarese women -- Hla May (66) and Mya Htwe (45) -- will be conducted on Thursday following requests by the Myammar Embassy," a senior police officer told IANS.

"A panel of doctors took the DNA samples of Himanshu and his mother, the son and wife of the missing supervisor, Lal Chand (50). They have been sent to the forensic laboratory for the identification of Chand. An unidentified body, with 80 per cent burns, was recovered from the hotel during the rescue operation," he said.

According to Himanshu, his father was a supervisor at the hotel for the last 25 years.
"I am still hoping my father is alive. We have been trying to identify the body from among the deceased in the hospitals, but none matched so far," Himanshu said.

--IANS sp/arm/pcj