Families groan over loss of corpses to Anambra morgue fire

Family members whose relations were burnt beyond recognition in the mortuary section of General Hospital Onitsha, have continue to besiege the morgue in search of their love ones.

They lamented lack of access to the morgue and inability to identify corpses of their loved ones due to impact of the fire.

Over 400 corpses were burnt to ashes in the fire incident that gutted the mortuary at the weekend. The weekend incident was blamed on bush burning in the area as confirmed by the director of Anambra State Fire Service, Mr. Martin Agbili.

It was gathered that when the fire started, mortuary attendants poured water mixed with detergent to douse the flame, rather it got worse.

When The Guardian visited the hospital, security operatives had cordoned off the morgue section to avert attacks by the people.

A source revealed that a directive has been given from the authorities to stop further influx from relations and friends of the charred corpses, until they are able to secure genuine autopsy and identify the corpses before they can take them away.

Speaking with The Guardian, a relation of one of the deceased whose corpse was burnt said the deceased was slated for burial this week. According to him, some relations who travel home for Christmas were waiting for the funeral before they return to their operational bases. He described the burning of corpses as double tragedy for both the deceased and the family.

Another family, Charles Ozor said: “We came to take the corpse of a community member for burial only for us to see that the corpses in the morgue had been burnt beyond recognition. We are confused; we don’t know what to do.”

A staff of the morgue who pleaded anonymity disclosed the morgue had been contracted to a private operator. When contacted, the operator of the morgue, Emma, said: “I had gone to Awka to bring some corpses. While I was there, I was told on the phone that there was fire and I rushed down immediately. Before I arrived here, the fire had done a lot of damage.

The fire burnt both fresh and abandoned corpses packed inside the morgue. The chemicals we used in preserving the corpses must have aggravated the fire. The chemicals are highly inflammable and they burn faster than fuel.”

Amid claims of foul play over the fire incident, the Director, State Fire Service, Agbili, insisted that the fire was caused by bush burning from a nearby quarter of the hospital. He disclosed that his men responded as soon it got the distress call. (The Guardian)