Indian family receives wrong body after mix-up in UAE

Abu Dhabi: A bereaved Indian family in Kerala, grappling with the untimely demise of their relative in the UAE capital, has received someone else’s body in a shocking mix up.
Nidhin Othayoth Kottaron, 29, died last week in Abu Dhabi. But instead of receiving his body, the Keralite family received the body of Kamatchi Krishnan, 39, hailing from Tamil Nadu, the Khaleej Times reported on Saturday.
A relative of deceased Kottaron said the family realised there was a mix up when the coffin arrived in Kerala on Friday on an Air India flight.
“His (Kottaron) parents were desperately waiting for the mortal remains since one week. They are still in a state of shock on what happened,” said the relative.
Both Indian expats died two days apart but it was not clear how the mix up happened at the mortuary where both the bodies were kept, the report said.
Kottaron who was working as a site supervisor in Ruwais was found dead on July 5, while Krishnan reportedly died on July 7. The cause of death for both cases was not confirmed.
The body of Krishnan is currently kept in the mortuary at a government hospital in Kottaron’s native place in Wayanad, awaiting relatives.
An Indian Embassy official said they were doing everything possible to help the families.
“We are not sure how this unfortunate incident happened. Our first priority is to support the families by expediting the repatriation of the body, which is still in the mortuary.” (IANS)