Bodies pile up at Mangalore’s mortuaries

Mangalore’s mortuaries tried in vain to accommodate the 158 bodies of the air crash victims on Saturday. Hospitals are receiving more than double the number of bodies they can accommodate. Since the bodies are charred, the identification process is difficult. A hundred bodies have been brought to Wenlock Government Hospital, which can accommodate only four bodies in its mortuary. “Since there is no question of accommodating so many bodies in the mortuary, bodies have been piled outside the mortuary. The post-mortem process has already started, but it will take a few days to complete it,” said a mortuary staffer.  SCS Hospital, with a capacity to accommodate four bodies in its mortuary, has three bodies kept there. While AJ Hospital’s mortuary can accommodate eight bodies, 13 bodies have been kept there. Bodies are being kept on ice and the post-mortem process has started. None of the bodies have been claimed.