Riyadh: The family of an Indian expatriate, who died of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) corona virus in Saudi Arabia, has refused to receive his body in India, amid fears of contracting the deadly disease, a media report said yesterday.
MERS is a serious viral respiratory illness caused by the corona virus and can be transmitted by air to humans.
Dasharati Sattaih, who worked in a maintenance company in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province that had contracts with several hospitals, contracted the viral disease while on the job and later died June 20, Arab News reported.
The family of Sattaih, who hails from the Adilabad district of the south Indian state of Telangana, has refused to claim the body after they learned from misleading sources that they could be infected with the disease if they touched the body.
The employer has been cooperating to repatriate the body to India but the family has refused to complete the formalities. This has led to the body lying unclaimed in a morgue, the report stated.
Repatriation or burial of an expatriate worker in the Arab nation can be a complicated process which can only be eased with the cooperation of the kin.
In a related incident, another Indian expatriate who died after a prolonged illness in Saudi Arabia has been ruled out to be MERS infected. The body of Akrim Singh from Punjab, was finally repatriated home.
IANS
