Families awaiting the remains of their loved ones from Abu Dhabi, who had died by causes other than COVID-19, spent another agonising night on Sunday, after three bodies were sent back to the UAE by immigration authorities in Delhi on Friday.
Officials said they hoped that the bodies of Kamlesh Bhatt, Sanjeev Kumar and Jagsir Singh would arrive again early on Monday by an Etihad Airlines flight, after the government reversed its decision to ban coffins being brought back as a part of air cargo due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Mr. Bhatt’s cousin Vimlesh Bhatt, who had even filed a petition with the High Court in Delhi over the issue, said he was driving back to Delhi for the second time in three days, undertaking the seven hour drive from Tehri in the hope that the body would be allowed to come back to India on Monday morning.
While one of the victims had died in a car accident, the other two suffered heart attacks. But despite appeals from the Indian Embassy and airline officials that they were not COVID-19