Families affected in the Ethiopian Airlines crash that left 157 dead on Sunday may not get their loved ones for burial, reports the Standard.
According to the reports, it may take several months for experts to match all body parts for DNA testing, a move that could hinder any burial arrangements for those who died.
Only pieces of bodies were recovered from the crash scene with some others burning beyond recognition, another reason why it would not be easy to get bodies for burial.
Even though the Kenyan government has paid for air tickets for families that were affected to Ethiopia, Transport Principal Secretary Esther Koimett left Addis Ababa on Monday, further raising doubts on whether the affected families with get bodies for burial.
Relatives of one of the victims, Mama Sahra Hassan, for instance, camped at the Kenyan Embassy help desk.
Her son, Khalid Abdikadir Mohamed shared his frustration over the slow release of information on his mother and brother.
“We are here hoping that we would have a clear indication of where matters stand but we cannot even get a confirmation if we will be taken to the accident scene,” said Mohamed.
Mr Opher Dach, an Israeli diplomat, shared the pain of failing to live up to the Judaism teachings on treating the dead, unable to comprehend that there would be no remains to take back home after all.
“We are here to help find our people, among the others, so that we can bury them according to our religion,” Dach said.
Christians are allowed to bury bodies at any time but the Islam religion only gives 24 hours. For those who practice Judaism, they give up to 72 hours to have the body interred.
Investigations to the crash are ongoing even as several countries grounded all aeroplanes of Boeing model due to safety reasons with Britain and France being the latest.