Mortuary workers in the Turkish occupied north were left egg-faced on Sunday after mistakenly giving the body of a Greek Cypriot woman to a Turkish Cypriot family for burial.
The error came to light when Toula Liasis went to retrieve the body of her recently-deceased mother from the hospital morgue that is situated in the town of Famagusta. Her mother, Maroulla Savva Liasis, had been living in the Greek Cypriot enclave of Ayia Triada for over 40 years when she passed away recently.
The woman had decided to stay in the north after her son went missing during the 1974 Turkish invasion of the island. His body was recovered years later following DNA analyses and buried in their village in the occupied area. The funeral of the elderly woman was set take place on Sunday and her body was to be laid to rest next to that of her son’s grave.
But the funeral plans were postponed when Toula was stunned to hear from Turkish Cypriot mortuary workers had accidentally given the body of her mother to a Turkish Cypriot family who then proceeded to ahead with the burial close to Trikomo village in the Kyrenia district.
Friends and relatives were informed of the mistake with the funeral of Maroulla set to take place on Monday.
Cyprus Weekly