Horror in the morgue of Tirana, bodies decomposed for three years

2023-07-04 21:38:00, Denoncim CNA

"Fiks Fare" denounced a scandal in the Morgue of Tirana, where dead bodies have been in that institution for three years.

Through the footage, Fiksi brought the interior of the Morgue, where the corpses are kept. But the most scandalous thing was that two of the three refrigerators where the bodies were kept were not working, causing decomposition.

The newsroom of the investigative show "Fiks Fare" received information that the situation is very difficult. Delays in investigation and identification procedures have caused those bodies to decompose. The visuals are truly horror. It is known that in the morgue there are 3 refrigerators with a capacity of 24 corpses. But, at the time Fiksi provided footage, there were 27 corpses in that institution.

The editors also provided a list of all persons who have passed away and are unidentified. The bodies are from 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. According to this list, the most distant date is April 26, 2020, where a still unidentified body went to the Tirana Morgue. Then, at the end of 2020, another dead body went to the morgue. The list continues with 3 victims in 2021. Then, with 13 corpses in 2022, including a baby, who is still in the Morgue. In this year, several foreign citizens lost their lives, some identified and others not. In 2022, a dead body of a woman also went to the morgue. According to the Morgue of Tirana, this body came from the prison hospital. Other troops have gone to IML in 2023.

Horror in the morgue of Tirana, bodies decomposed for three years

After this information, Fiks' associates went inside the Morgue and filmed these dead bodies. The biggest problem was that, of the 3 actual refrigerators, only 1 was in full working order. A refrigerator, inside which there were several dead bodies, was not working. It seemed that the Morgue officials put a label "DO NOT OPEN IT, IT DOESN'T WORK!". The third refrigerator sometimes works and sometimes does not. It looks like the refrigerator has melted. And, inside it there are dead bodies again!

The corpses were placed on top of each other. Most scandalously, the dead bodies have begun to decompose. They are more than capacity. Two other bodies were on the autopsy tables and outside the refrigerators for some time.

After the horror scenes, Fiksi tried to get information from the Morgue of Tirana about this situation. Journalists asked the leaders to interview them, but none of them accepted. In the impossibility, Fiksi filed a request for information, where he was addressed with several questions: "Why are more corpses being kept than the capacity? "1 out of 3 refrigerators does not work and the bodies are decomposed. What measures has IM taken for this problem?"

Horror in the morgue of Tirana, bodies decomposed for three years

After a few days, the IML gave us an answer that all the dead bodies that are in the QSUNT Morgue have been communicated with the relevant institutions to carry out the burial procedures. "The data on the corpses located in the Morgue premises are subject to the prosecution and personal data of dead bodies cannot be given. The capacity of cadaver-holding refrigerators is 24 places. The morgue administers the dead bodies that come from several hospitals, and the non-removal of the corpses has caused an overload in the corpse-holding refrigerators", says the response of the IML.

Further, he affirms that with the urgent letter dated March 24, 2023, they addressed the University Trauma Hospital and with the same urgent letter, they addressed the Shefqet Ndroqi Hospital on June 6, 2023. "We have sent another request for cooperation to the Trauma Hospital and we are still waiting for an answer. The Institute of Forensic Medicine has planned to buy 3 new refrigerators for the year 2023. The tender has been developed and the goods will be sold very soon," says the answer.

It is further clarified that the corpses that are currently in the Morgue have not been buried as no family members have so far been interested in retrieving the body and burying them. "We have turned to the respective prosecutor's offices where this event took place, to obtain a burial permit. For the cases where we received the burial permit, we addressed the respective municipalities. For the corpses that are currently in the morgue, the procedures are in progress. So far, 16 funerals have been carried out by the municipalities. The identification of the corpses is a matter for the police. The bodies are kept until the investigation by the prosecution is closed. If there are no relatives, the relevant municipality takes care of the burial of these citizens", concludes the Institute of Forensic Medicine, confirming the images and information of Fiks Fare./ tch