- ABHA: A meeting held at the Department of Health Affairs in Abha on Wednesday has called for establishing a special committee at the Asir governorate to follow up burial or repatriation of unclaimed bodies of expatriates.
The meeting, chaired by acting director general of health affairs Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Qahtani, grouped representatives from a number of government departments, including the Health Department, the border guards, police and hospitals.
Director of information and public relations in the Health Department Saeed bin Abdullah Al-Nigair said the meeting underlined the need to bury bodies quickly according to Shariah rules. The meeting recommended that dead bodies should not remain in morgues for more than two months.
He said the proposed committee would follow up procedures of burial or repatriation of unclaimed bodies in coordination with foreign diplomatic missions.
Al-Nigair said the committee would bury unclaimed bodies of foreigners if their embassies or consulates did not respond within two months. He said the meeting asked all hospitals to provide the numbers of dead bodies in their morgues.
