The bodies of 33 residents remain in the mortuary; they are to be buried at the expense of the Mykolaiv budget

Mortuary. File photo courtesy of the ‘Antik’ funeral home

The Mykolaiv Regional Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination currently holds 33 bodies of city residents who are to be buried at the expense of the local budget. With summer approaching, this could become a problem.

This came to light during a session of the Mykolaiv City Council on 26 March, reports NikVesti.

The issue was raised by councillor Andrii Yantar. The councillor noted that residents of Mykolaiv who died in the city but whose bodies are not claimed by relatives for burial are buried at the expense of the local budget. However, there are currently more than 30 bodies in the mortuary.

«As of today, there are 33 bodies at the Mykolaiv Regional Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination. These are residents of Mykolaiv: I have verified this. They are piling up. But they promise to collect and bury them in April. Summer is about to begin, and this is very dangerous (the fact that people are not being buried in time, — note). Furthermore, soldiers are being repatriated. There is effectively no space left in the mortuary,» noted Andrii Yantar.

The councillor requested additional funds be allocated if the social welfare department lacks sufficient resources to bury the deceased.

«At the start of the year, there were 100 bodies,» added the councillor.
«This is the first time I’ve heard this from you. I will check this information and we will resolve this issue. I understand that this matter cannot be put off until the end of the year; it needs to be resolved now,» said Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych.

The mayor instructed his deputy, Anatolii Petrov, and the director of the Department of Labour and Social Protection, Serhii Vasylenko, to urgently prepare information regarding the problem and its resolution.

As a reminder, on 29 January, 1,000 bodies of the deceased were returned to Ukraine as part of repatriation efforts; according to the Russian side, these belong to Ukrainian servicemen.

On 26 February, a further 1,000 bodies were returned. Following their return, the bodies are to undergo an identification procedure by experts.