Nigerians who have no direct lineage and relationship with the victims of the Dana air crash are trooping daily to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital Ikeja daily to “claim” the corpse of their “loved” ones.
Lagos State Government and the management of Dana Airline, yesterday, justified the delay in releasing the 52 identifiable bodies deposited at the Lekan Ogunsanya mortuary of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, even as they said all autopsies on the 149 corpses in the state mortuaries would be concluded within two weeks.
These explanations were made during a world press conference jointly organised by the Lagos State government and Dana Airline, in Lagos.
They further disclosed that the autopsies on the 52 identifiable bodies would be concluded on Friday making way for commencement of autopsies and DNA examination on the 97 non-identifiable bodies at Mainland Hospital mortuary.
From left: Mr. Recherd Ward, Blake Emergency Services; Prof. John Obafunwa, Vice Chancellor Lagos State University; Prof. Wale Oke, Chief Medical Director, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Ikeja; Mr. Ade Ipaye, Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State and Dr. Jide Idris, Commissioner for Health, during a World Press Conference by Lagos State Government and Dana Aircraft Management on Dana aircraft crash, in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Bunmi Azeez.
Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, Mr. Ade Ipaye, who led the state's team to the joint press conference with representatives of Dana Air and the airlines overseas insurers noted that the explanation had become necessary following growing concern by the relations of the victims over the delay in the release of the bodies of their loved ones.
According to Ipaye, "we are protecting the interest of the victims and their relatives and in doing this, we are working with the insurance company (Llodys, London) and Dana Airline, and to make sure that the bodies are properly identified so that they will be handed over to their relatives. This is the process that is ongoing. And by the local law and the international standards, it is not possible for the relatives to identify their families correctly. It also rests on the state government to do more in terms of carrying out autopsy on each bodies, whether identified or not. We need to have conclusive information on that.
"The autopsy has started and we were able to do autopsy on 12 bodies and 18 were conducted today. And we will go on that way and hopefully, we will complete the autopsy of the identified bodies on Friday. And then in batches, the bodies of those who were unidentified will be brought in for autopsy."
Compensation for victims
Explaining why it is important for autopsy and DNA investigations to be carried out on the corpses, Ipaye saidairline insurance company was likely to pay compensation to families of the victims.
He noted: "With proper documentation and data, compensation due to any of the victim will not go into wrong hands. Even corpses that families have not show up, with the data and documentation, anytime they showed up they will collect the compensation due to them.
"Although we know that relatives will like to embark on certain burial rites for their loved ones but they should bear with the state government as it engages in the exercise. Each of the victims is entitled to compensation. We need to do all these so that we can get all the data that would be required so that it would be easy for the relatives while claiming the bodies of their family member. This is because the records we are able to gather will be use to compare to whatever any relative presents as claim to receive their family member."
Ipaye said the DNA examination was the only available solution to identify unidentifiable corpses that were charred beyond recognition in the crash.
He, therefore, appealed to relations of the crash victims to bear with the Lagos State Government and to be a little patient, because the delay presently in releasing the corpses is for the good of all involve.
He opined that it was better to take time and do a project thoroughly, adding that to hurry over it may cause unnecessary complaints in future.
He assured all families of the victims that they would receive the bodies of their relations but should make room for due process and documentation.
LASG to pay for autopsy
On who pays for the autopsy, going by the fact that an autopsy costs between N100, 000 to N150, 000 per corpse, Ipaye explained that from the on-set of the crash, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State gave directives to all relevant authorities to render services and assistants to the victims and relations of the air crash to alleviate their sufferings.
In line with that directive, Ipaye said the evacuation of the corpses from the site of the crash, depositing them in mortuaries and carrying autopsies on them were currently being borne by the state government.
He stated that the state government had the privilege to approach the airline insurance companies to pay for the autopsies and other services rendered if it deems it fit to do so.
"The insurance of an airline include the liability to pay for accidents, both for victims on ground and onboard including the payment of autopsies where the need arises. Therefore, if ask who is paying for the autopsies, for now it is Lagos State government but we have the right to write the insurance of the airline for refund."
Corroborating his views, Consultant Pathologists and Forensic Medicine, who is also the Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University, Prof. John Obafunwa, said a file had been opened for all the corpses that had received autopsy examination and the files would be kept as document for future references, especially for families that have not yet showed up for their corpses.
On his part, the representative of Dana Air line, Mr. Francis Ogboro, who is also a director in the company said structures had been put in place to alleviate the sufferings which the families of the victims are passing through.
Ogboro said a crisis and media centres had been opened for relations of the victims and the general public that might want to access any information on the situation.
"We have been able to get our insurers from the United Kingdom to ensure that we bring a speedy solution to the sufferings of the families of the victims."
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