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Sixteen bodies that were deposited in various hospitals following the June 3 fire and flood disasters have still not been claimed by their families and relatives.

The Finder’s investigations revealed that 13 of the unclaimed bodies are deposited at the Police Hospital mortuary and three at the Korle-Bu mortuary.

According to the acting Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Police Hospital, Corporal Faustina Nunekpeku, about three of the bodies are burnt beyond recognition, but the remaining 10 can be identified.

A total of 159 people died from the flood and fire disasters.

However, some of them were burnt beyond recognition.

Consequently, government directed that DNA test should be conducted on the bodies to help family members claim their relatives for the necessary funeral rites.

However, three clear months after the disaster, 13 bodies at the Police Hospital and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital are yet to be identified.

Corporal Nunekpeku was of the view that family members may probably not be aware that the bodies of their relatives were in the morgue.

She took the opportunity to appeal to members of the general public whose relatives have been missing since the disaster occurred to visit the hospital and identify the remaining bodies.

In a related development, she said the Police Hospital administration is calling on all relatives, families and the general public who have not seen their relatives for some time now to contact the hospital’s mortuary as part of their search.

The administration has announced that there will be a decongestion exercise to dispose of 150 unknown and unclaimed bodies at the hospital’s mortuary.

It has, however, noted that bodies not collected within a stipulated period of 21 days will be given a mass burial.

Corporal Nunekpeku said the bodies include persons who were knocked down by hit-and-run drivers, mentally challenged, armed robbers who have killed in the cause of their operations and people who were found dead by the roadside and were brought in by the police.