Funeral mix-up scandal at university hospital triggers investigation: Body reburied

An investigation is underway following a disturbing incident at Mustafa Kemal University Training and Research Hospital in Hatay, Turkey, where a family received the wrong body from the morgue. Yusuf Kırlangıç, 81, died of a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. When his family arrived to collect his body, they were handed a corpse they did not recognize.

Upon opening the body bag, the Kırlangıç family was shocked to find it was not their father. Further checks revealed the body belonged to a different individual, İ.Ü., who lived in the Erzin district. The other family, mistakenly believing it was their own relative, had already taken Kırlangıç's body and proceeded with its burial.

“

The incident started when we went to pick up our father's body from the university hospital. We realized the body given to us was not our father. We received my father's body from the Erzin State Hospital morgue late last night. We thank the officials who expedited this process and the Şehit Özen Police Station. Actually, this should not have come this far. If the official had done their job properly, we wouldn't be here. I am very sorry this happened. We buried my father in Serinyol Mahallesi Cemetery this morning. Our pain has lessened a bit because we have reunited with our father's body. I think the university hospital has a great negligence. The university hospital is responsible for this process. I hope others do not experience this pain. They called us and we went to Erzin State Hospital and picked up the body. The other family had performed funeral prayers for my father, washed the body, and buried it. Even at that time, the family did not realize that the body was not their father. I don't understand what kind of thing this was. They don't recognize their fathers.

The Kırlangıç family expressed outrage over the mix-up and the distress it caused. Authorities expedited the process to retrieve Yusuf Kırlangıç's body from the cemetery where it had been mistakenly interred. The family then took possession of their father's body and buried him the following morning in Serinyol Mahallesi Cemetery.

Servet Kırlangıç, a family member, expressed disbelief that the other family did not realize the body they received was not their father, especially after washing and performing funeral prayers. "How could this be? I don't understand. They don't recognize their own father," he stated. The family intends to file a complaint against the hospital staff for their negligence, hoping to prevent similar incidents from happening to others.

“

After confirming it was our father, we brought him to Antakya and buried our body in the morning.