Indian to take DNA test in S Arabia to identify brother's body

"We are helping both the Saudi authorities and the family of the deceased to complete the forensic formalities of Balachandran Amirthalingam, 35, who died in the floods 19 months ago," S D Moorthy, consul of labour welfare at the Indian consulate in Jeddah, was quoted as saying by Arab News.

Once the body is identified, a compensation of one million Saudi riyals will be paid to his family.

Amirthalingam's body has been lying in a government morgue in Jeddah since November 2009 flash floods that killed 130 people and rendered thousands homeless.

As part of post-flood rehabilitation programs, compensation is being paid to the victims and families of the deceased on the instruction of Saudi King Abdullah.

Moorthy said five Indian workers died in the devastating floods. The families of two, Mohammed Elyas from Rajasthan and Shanawaz from Kerala, have already received compensation of one million riyals each. Amirthalingam is the third case to be handled by the mission for this purpose, the consul said.

Amirthalingam, who hailed from Nagoor in the district of Nagapattanam in Tamil Nadu, had been working for a water supply company in Mecca province.

Moorthy said Amirthalingam's brother Jayachandran visited the mission on Saturday.
"We were made to understand that the identification and other forensic formalities including the DNA test will have to be done with the permission of the Civil Defense in Jeddah," he told the newspaper.

He expected the testing to be completed as soon as the green light was given from local authorities. Following the identification of the body, officials would give the go-ahead to repatriate the remains home, the official said.

It is expected that the results of the forensic tests would take a minimum of three months. The sponsor is paying for repatriation and other expenses.