Abu Dhabi: A family in the south Indian state of Kerala, who was grappling with the untimely demise of their young son, was shocked to know on Friday that they were going to receive someone else’s body in the coffin that arrived from Abu Dhabi.
Nidhin Othayoth, 29, was found hanging in his company accommodation in Ghayathi in the western region of Abu Dhabi on July 5, his company’s owner, who also is his distant relative, told Gulf News.
“It was a suspected suicide and due to the investigations, the body was repatriated after a week — on Thursday evening,” said Sunil Kumar of Maximum Technical Contracting Company.
However, he received a call from officials at the hospital’s morgue early on Friday, saying there was a mix-up and that the body of a man from Tamil Nadu in India was sent to Nidhin’s family.
Kamachi Krishnan, 39, had died of cardiac arrest on July 7 in the western region of Abu Dhabi. His body was to be repatriated early on Friday, but his relatives could not identify the body.
Kumar rushed to the morgue and found that it was Nidhin’s body.
He said the mix-up occurred as his company’s staff made a mistake in identifying the body. “Due to a week’s delay, there were minor changes on his face. They wrongly identified Krishnan as Nidhin,” he said.
Kumar immediately called up his relatives in Kerala, who were transporting the body from Calicut Airport in Kerala to Wayanad, the hometown of the deceased.
They then moved the body to a nearby hospital morgue, he said.
The Indian Embassy has been assisting the families of both the deceased and issued all necessary documents to resolve the issue, a senior official told Gulf News.
“We have sent the required documents to Kerala authorities to transport Krishnan’s body from Kerala to Tamil Nadu,” said M. Rajmurugan, counsellor, consular affairs at the embassy.
He said the embassy is coordinating with UAE authorities and airlines to repatriate Nidhin’s body to Kerala.
“The body will be flown out in the next available flight,” he said, adding that embassy officials have been working on this matter through the day.
M. M Naser Kanjangad, a social worker, who has been assisting the families with repatriation, said the embassy, local authorities and airline officials have been extending all possible help.
