News
Karapitiya hospital grapples with bodies
View(s):An unexpected influx of bodies following the sinking of Iranian frigate IRIS Dena posed a few challenges for the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital this week.
“With the influx of bodies, our immediate concern was preventing decomposition until proper storage facilities arrived,” said Karapitiya Hospital Director Dr S.D.U.M. Ranga. “As a temporary measure, we had to place the bodies on ice cubes mixed with sawdust until freezer containers could be arranged.”
“These are not available in Galle, and it is extremely difficult to locate freezer containers within such a short period of time,” Dr Ranga said. “Even though we activated our disaster response plan, we did not anticipate this number of bodies or the logistical challenge of storing them.”
Three forensic teams were involved in the medical and legal procedures, including consultant Judicial Medical Officers (JMO) Prof. Clifford Perera, Prof. Janaki Warushahennadi and Dr Ajith Ratnaweera.
Authorities indicated that the hospital is not certain of the duration of custody.
“We are not aware of the discussions between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Iran,” Dr Ranga said. “We have not been informed about how long we will need to store the bodies here.”
If local burial were permitted, it could be done.
“If the decision was to bury the bodies here, we would not face much difficulty. With the assistance of the municipal council and the community, the burials could be carried out within a day,” he noted.
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