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A funeral home in Santiago accuses Latam Airline of putting obstacles in the way of the transfer of the coffin with a deceased by covid-19 from the capital to Punta Arenas, who was returning to his city of origin, after having arrived urgently by air days before RM, because they had not brought the required documentation, despite the fact that they had the death certificate issued by the doctor, the sealed urn and the sanitary resolution that authorizes the funeral home to make transfers.
Latam Cargo, which is the division that has to do with the issue, responded that they are governed by the protocol imposed by the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (DGAC), which, according to them, requires the burial pass for the transfer of bodies by air.
“It is serious, because the deadlines are running out, the trip delays and the injection to preserve corpses will not be enough. If it is not solved soon, he will have to be cremated in Santiago, ”said Boris Garrido, owner of the Corazón de Jesús funeral home in Santiago, in charge of the transfer and who denounced the problem.
The fact
The episode occurred at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, when workers from the Corazón de Jesús Funeral Home arrived at the Latam Cargo warehouses, in Pudahuel Airport, with the coffin of a 57-year-old man, a native of Magallanes, who died on Tuesday due to pneumonia and covid-19, after arriving in Santiago, days before, by air, in a very serious condition from Punta Arenas.
According to what the owner of the funeral home told BBCL, at the time they tried to enter, the coffin was not received by Latam Cargo because, according to the Warehouse Manager, it would not have all the required documentation.
However, Boris Garrido He pointed out that the funeral home brought the medical death certificate, which, according to him, is the key document for the transfer.
“It is unusual. We sent him with the papers in order, we went to leave him and they did not want to receive him because he did not have a burial pass, but he had the doctor’s certificate issued. He was going to register in the Civil Registry of Punta Arenas, but, even so, they demanded the burial pass, ”Garrido explained.
He specified that they were at the airport from 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. on Wednesday, bent on a solution, without success.
“They even called the Magallanes Health Service, who had the reservation of the transfer by an agreement between the Ministry and Latam, and it was not possible. We left the coffin at a temple in Vicuña Mackenna and from there we went to the premises, back ”, he highlighted.
Problem gets worse
The national president of the guild of funeral homes, Igor woldarsky, assured that they always comply with the regulations required for the transfer of the deceased covid-19, be it air or land.
Among them, the security measures in the transfer, such as the hermetic sealing of the coffins.
“This is not the first time this has happened, I understand that there is an agreement between Minsal and Latam for the movement of bodies by air and it is complex that they place so many obstacles, “said the union leader.
“It is important to point out that these transfers by air are patients who come from other regions to Santiago for health care issues due to pandemic. Therefore, the processing facilities and opportunity are limited in time, even more so with the empathy that must exist ”, added Woldasky.
As explained by the same leader, the procedure for transfer by air is carried out according to what is indicated by the regulations of cemeteries and the Ministry of Health.
“Indicates sealed urns, health resolution, death certificate issued by the treating physician or the established Health Service, be it hospitals, clinics and others. When a regional transfer is made by air, the company requests the aforementioned documentation, plus a document issued by the funeral home that indicates that the urn complies with the Decree 357, of the respective impermeability ”, he added.
Then, in the destination region, he is received by a funeral company that is responsible for removing the coffin and carrying out the final procedures.
“These can be the inscription in the Civil Registry, as long as in the region of origin said entity has been out of office hours or is on a holiday. This whole process is established by the Minsal and the Civil Registry “, He said.
From Latam
Through a public statement, Latam delivered his version.
“Given the lack of the permit for the transfer of human remains (or also known as a“ burial pass ”) required by the aeronautical authority, the company could not carry out the contracted service. Additionally, the Ministry of Health did not receive any formal exception from the DGAC to carry out the transfer without the document required by the regulations, ”said the company.
Faced with Latam’s response, Igor waldorsky He pointed out that in this matter, in transfers by covid-19, it is not appropriate for the airline to request burial permits because it is not a cemetery and that in previous situations they had not presented any problem, more in pandemic.
For its part, from the Health Ministry in Santiago, they indicated that “for the interregional transfer of corpses, by air, the RM Health SEREMI always issues a Transfer Resolution. In addition, an extension of the burial period was made. Both procedures are already ready in the Metropolitan Health Seremi ”.
However, they ruled out that a burial pass may be required for this aerial procedure.
Meanwhile, more or less processing, there is a family in Punta Arenas that waits – and despairs – for its debt.
Hopefully one or more people of good will can intercede. It is an urgent matter.
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