118 dead bodies incinerated at Douala Laquintinie Hospital

The Laquintinie hospital in Douala found the solution to the bodies abandoned by families in morgues. Incineration without further ado.

According to La Nouvelle Expression of 22 October 2015, information that the hospital will burn over 1,800 deceased in this situation was relayed.

The newspaper writes citing a hospital official: "We're just waiting for the Yaoundé orders to burn the bodies abandoned for over a year." The Director of Laquintinie has published posters, made radio announcements asking families to come and collect overdue body in its morgue.

According to the paper, very few families picked their dead. Some, however, have tried to retrieve their deceased family members but the exorbitant cost of mortuary fees discouraged them. "I came because my uncle's body was abandoned here for three months for lack of means. We wonder how 5000Fcfa multiplies by the number of days spent by the body of my uncle in the morgue. Instead of paying more than 450,000 FCFA, I prefer it be cremated," said a relative of a body abandoned in the hospital.

According to La Nouvelle Expression, "the hospital each year receives bodies that are mostly unidentified. They are sent by some services such as fire departments, social service, the judicial police, the agents of the mayor and even the emergency department of this hospital."

The decision of the Laquintinie hospital certainly will not please everyone, but it has at least one advantage: decongests the morgue to allow other families to be able to keep the bodies of their deceased relatives.