Coronavirus: Bodies of deceased Pakistanis await repatriation, putting grieving families in a limbo
'At least 14 Pakistanis died just in Barcelona and their bodies have been housed in cold storage,' a Pakistani national in Spain said
April 15, 2020
ISLAMABAD: The bodies of multiple Pakistani nationals who passed away abroad from either the deadly coronavirus or of natural causes, await repatriation as international flights remain suspended due to the pandemic.
The dilemma has not been easy on the deceased Pakistanis' grieving families back home who are in a limbo. They wonder when, if at all, the bodies will be returned and what funeral arrangements should be made should they ever be repatriated.
Ayaz Abbasi, a social worker residing in Barcelona, the capital of Spain’s Catalonia, told Geo News that the bodies of Pakistanis who had died in foreign countries had been kept in morgues.
"At least 14 Pakistanis died just in Barcelona and their bodies have been kept in cold storage," Abbasi said. "Of those, nine died of natural causes and five of the coronavirus," he added, referring to the pandemic that has infected more than two million people and left more than 128,000 dead around the world.
