The decision did not say why Tibaiqi, who occupied the position for seven years, was relieved, but many people in the southern city believe it was because morgues in the city's hospitals are overflowing with unidentified bodies.

Some city residents and reports claimed the hospitals were now using cooler trucks as temporary morgues.

They said there were many calls for Tibaiqi’s sacking following the apparent deterioration of health services in Jazan. Morgues in the city were so crowded with bodies to the extent that they were unable to take any more.

Health officials decided to use refrigerators and cooler trucks that usually store juices and foodstuffs as temporary morgues, Al-Madinah newspaper reported Wednesday.

According to health sources, there were about 300 unidentified bodies in the hospitals' morgues, which were working at more than 150 percent of their capacity. Some of these bodies had been kept in the morgues for many years, they added.

Ali Muhammad, an employee at the city's university, said when he went to the hospital to claim the body of one of his relatives, he was directed toward a cooler truck parked near a garbage bin.  “The bodies appeared to have been haphazardly thrown in the truck, showing total disrespect for the dead,” he said.

“We were not given any safety equipment such as gloves or oxygen masks when we entered the truck to collect the body. We had to disturb many other bodies,” he added.

Spokesman of the local health affairs department Jibreel Al-Qabi said a file had been submitted on the problem to the governorate and security officials to find a solution.

An official at the department said about 25 percent of the morgues’ capacity should be left vacant for emergency cases. He said there were no space left in any of the morgues.