Child’s body missing: Relatives inconsolable

Child’s body missing: Relatives inconsolable

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, May 27: Relatives of 4-year-old Mohammed Zubair, a Kindergarten Starters student, and his 3-year-old sister Zainab, who were among the plane crash victims of May 22 along with their parents, were inconsolable when they realized that the body of one of the children had been handed over to someone else. The tragedy came to light when Indian authorities discovered that they had only one child’s body at the mortuary of the Wenlock Hospital. 

Zadir Ahmed, the maternal uncle of the children, is furious. Alleging that the entire process of body identification was done in an unprofessional manner, he said that bodies were given away to whoever asked for them without first ascertaining the identity. He angrily labeled it “first-come-first-served kind of thing.” 

The children, accompanied by their parents Sameena (36) and Mohammed Ziad (41) were on their way to Mangalore to attend a relative’s funeral. Their elder siblings Rauhan (13) and Rabia (10) stayed behind with Zadir Ahmed because tickets were not available. 

On the evening of Saturday, Zadir Ahmed, Rauhan, and Rabia flew to Mangalore for the agonizing task of identifying the bodies of their loved ones. Although the mother’s body has been identified, the father’s body and the bodies of the children are yet to be identified. 

Zadir Ahmad said that Rauhan’s blood sample has been taken for DNA testing; and the reports will arrive in a few days. He expressed his sorrow than only one child will get a burial because the body of the other is missing.