Following media reports that some unclaimed corpses of illegal migrants from the capsized Rashid boat have started decaying, chairperson of the Administrative Prosecution Authority Ali Rezk has ordered an urgent investigation into the matter.
“The victims have the right to a decent death at the very least. Their bodies should be respected,” the authority said in a Monday statement.
The authority referred to a report published Saturday by the local news website Al-Mogaz on Biyala Central Hospital in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate in the Delta region. The report said that doctors fled the area due to a terrible smell coming from the mortuary, suggesting that the refrigeration system may be defective.
The report added that five unidentified corpses have begun to decay. Two were transported to El-Hamoul Central Hospital, while Kafr El-Sheikh governor Al-Sayed Nasser ordered that a committee be formed to perform daily checks across all the governorates’ mortuaries.
A total of 49 unidentified corpses, unclaimed by any relatives, were distributed across the governorate’s hospitals. Physicians have taken samples from the bodies to conduct DNA tests, Deputy Health Minister Alaa Osman said in press statements.
On 21 September, a fishing boat carrying 600 unregistered migrants of different nationalities capsized offshore from Rashid, Beheira governorate. A total of 168 people have been rescued and 202 dead bodies were recovered, while the remainder have been reported missing.
