The malfunction in the Paphos morgue’s alarm system is expected to be repaired by the end of the week, and the bodies will be transferred again, which are currently being temporarily stored in a special refrigerator installed on the premises.
Speaking on the Alpha Kalimera show, OKYPY Press Spokesperson Pambos Charilaou stated that the refrigerated container has been installed very well “so that we can do our job”
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“An organization comes out to apologize because the alarm system isn’t working, and then it comes out again to apologize because it’s going to fix the alarm system. Because the impression given yesterday was that something had happened and they brought this refrigerated container to place it next to the morgue. It’s good to ask questions beforehand and get the right answers—from those who should be providing them—and I’ll take it a step further and say this: “Bodies have been transferred to this refrigerator and are being stored in the cold storage rooms of the Paphos General Hospital morgue.”
He clarifies that the bodies were transferred to the refrigerator because, as noted in the Audit Office’s report, there was a problem with the alarm system, and they had to take all necessary corrective measures to repair the alarm. “Because if there’s a malfunction—especially with the refrigerator’s temperature—we won’t receive the relevant alert,” he adds.
“This work will take about four days, with another three days set aside, that is, by the end of the week, when the cold storage rooms will be disinfected, the technicians will go inside to repair the alarm system, and we will return the bodies to their places. It’s not a task that can be done from the outside—it’s not something that can be handled externally without all this preparatory work. These are tasks carried out inside the cold storage rooms, and all necessary precautions must be taken.”
He also points out that the Special Refrigeration Unit meets all specifications and that all relevant protocols regarding the storage of bodies are followed.
When asked what areas OKYPY is responsible for, he clarifies that they are responsible for the mechanical equipment in the building and for the management of bodies that have not undergone an autopsy.
“It is important to take all necessary measures to ensure safety in this facility, because we know that, in addition to the bodies that are sent for burial, there are also bodies that are being held as police evidence, which we must safeguard at all costs.”
When asked to respond to the Audit Office’s findings regarding the length of time bodies are kept in morgues, Mr. Charilaou clarified that this is a legal matter.
“There is no time limit for storing a body. The bodies that remain there are those for which a decree from the coroner is required before they can be buried. No one can proceed with their burial. These are cases involving either foreign nationals or Cypriots for whom we are trying to locate relatives. Most of them are foreign nationals, which is why we contact their embassies, if we know which country they are from, so that the Embassy can check whether there are any relatives, locate them if there are any, and determine whether they wish to have the remains transported to their home country for burial. It is a very complex process. It is not because someone does not wish to proceed with the burial. It is a legal matter.”
Solonas Melas, spokesperson for licensed funeral homes, argues that not even the other morgues have this system, and even if it malfunctions, there is no one responsible for noticing it.
He questions whether the installation was performed by a licensed electrician, alleging that the morgue was not properly grounded.
When asked to comment on the allegations of organ removal—which the Audit Office also notes in its report—he states:
“In the past, they sent a deceased person abroad; the family requested an autopsy, and when they opened the body, the organs were missing. Then they sent us an email asking us to find the organs and send them because he was Muslim, and they wouldn’t bury the body until the organs were sent. And where were the organs found? In a refrigerator at Paphos Hospital. The man who removed them took them to his little shop and then went and put them in the refrigerator at Paphos.”
Mr. Melas claims that funeral homes remove organs, referring to “underhanded schemes.”
“The body is transported by the kilo, and it can cost 10 euros per kilo to transport it; if I remove three kilos, I save €30.”
He notes that there is no legal provision requiring funeral homes to keep records.
When asked who oversees funeral homes, he states that this is the responsibility of the inspector from the Ministry of the Interior; however, no inspections are actually conducted.
