The bodies of two Nepali female migrants have remained in a morgue in Kuwait for a long, with no families or relatives coming forward to claim them. Except for the deaths of Phulmaya Tamang from Sindhupalchok on May 28 and Sumitra Urau on April 28, the Nepali embassy in Kuwait has no record of the personal information of the deceased.

The permanent address of Urau, who left for Kuwait on July 22 last year, is yet to be found. The passport of Phulmaya mentions Santaman Tamang as her nearest relative. “Both of them went to Kuwait illegally, it has been found. We came to know about the deaths after the morgue sent us a letter, saying that the bodies had long been unclaimed for,” said Nepali Ambassador to Kuwait Madhuban Poudel.

He said the morgue informed the embassy of four unclaimed bodies lying there. But the families of only two could be contacted, he said. “We had asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu to search for the families of all the four,” he said.

It is said that the bodies may be cremated as per Kuwait I law that says anybody unclaimed for three months needs cremation. Poudel said that his office has requested the Kuwaiti government not to cremate the bodies without prior information to the embassy. 

32 deaths in June

QATAR

Thirty-two Nepali migrant workers died in Qatar in June alone, according to the Nepali embassy in Doha. Seventeen died of heart attack and one of cancer. Likewise, one died due to an electric shock and the remaining 13 were killed in road accidents.

Published on: 9 August 2013 | The Kathmandu Post