RAWALPINDI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has decided to initiate an investigation into the delay in handing over 14 bodies to their relatives at the Islamabad International Airport (IIA) on Saturday.

A PIA spokesman said four PIA flights - one from Manchester (PK-702) with two bodies on board, PK-785 with three bodies, PK-754 from Riyadh with six bodies and a flight from Karachi carrying two bodies - landed at the IIA within a span of two hours.

Sources said the bodies remained lying under the open sky in the scorching heat for several hours due to the unavailability of transport as two tractors of the PIA technical ground service used to transport coffins were out of order.

Private handling agencies were approached for help but they were also facing similar problems.

Relatives who had reached the airport to receive the bodies had to carry the coffins on their shoulders as the staff at the airport was not trained to handle the situation.

The delay in delivering the bodies led to a protest by the relatives. PIA spokesman Mashood Tajwar told Dawn that the delay was caused due to heavy congestion at the airport.

He said though the PIA airlifted bodies without any charges from all over the world, due to lack of sufficient equipment a little delay was caused in delivering the bodies to their relatives.

“PIA President and CEO Musharraf Rasool Cyan has taken strict notice of the delay and ordered an investigation to fix responsibility.”

The spokesman apologised to the relatives of deceased for the inconvenience caused to them and assured them of an appropriate action against those found responsible.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2018