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Burnt Morgue: Relatives lament inability to identify dead bodies for proper burial

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Pamela Eboh, Awka

The Enugwu Ukwu General hospital morgue in Njikoka local government area of Anambra State which was gutted by fire on the evening of December 29, 2018 has become a Mecca of some sort as people throng the place to have a first hand view of the morgue even as relatives of the over fifty burnt corpses cry out in pain.

Information has it that the fire was allegedly caused by a burning bush behind the morgue but so far, it is yet to be ascertained who put the fire.

On Wednesday, people who had their relatives deposited in the morgue for burial were still trooping to the hospital to identify their own but identification was made difficult because the corpses were burnt beyond recognition.

Though some of the charred corpses have allegedly been transferred to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu teaching hospital Awka, it was a touching sight to behold as some of the relatives who came to the burnt morgue to identify their loved ones cried uncontrollably at their inability to recognize the remains of their loved ones.

However, security presence has been increased at the scene to prevent unauthorized persons from gaining access to the place.According to source who spoke to Champion, he said that the corpses transferred to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Teaching hospital in Awka were those that were identified by relatives.

Mr Chima Eze on his part told a pathetic story of how he was denied access to see the remains of his brother on the day the mysterious fire engulfed the morgue but was denied access.

According to him, their late brother was deposited at the mortuary two weeks before the fire incident.He said, “I came on that day the mortuary was burnt to see the corpse of our brother. I was denied access into the Mortuary only to receive call at 3pm when I was already at home that the Mortuary had gone up in flame.

“We are yet to identify his remains but we are waiting for Morticians from Awka to determine what cause of action to take concerning that.”Also, Mr Sunday Onuorah, whose brother was deposited recently regretted the double pain the incident has brought to his family.

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