Return of English Channel drowning victims' bodies to Kurdistan postponed due to weather

The flight has been postponed to Dec. 26, a KRG official explained.

Mustafa Shilani 2021/12/25 12:26

The families of the victims are waiting for the bodies to arrive on early Saturday morning. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

Kurdistan Kurdistan Migrant English Channel

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The repatriation of the bodies of 16 Kurdish migrants who died in the English Channel to the Kurdistan Region has been postponed due to bad weather.

They were expected to arrive in the region at dawn Friday. The victims drowned late last month in the English Channel while attempting to reach the UK.

"It was not possible to return the bodies because of the bad weather," Halgurd Masoud, an advisor in the Kurdistan Regional Government's Department of Foreign Relations, told Kurdistan 24. The flight has been postponed to Dec. 26, he added.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani, has previously directed the return of the bodies of the victims, most of whom are Kurds, to their homes in the region.

The return of the bodies was delayed due to the process of identifying the victims, which was conducted in coordination between the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of the Interior, the Department of Foreign Relations and the representative of the regional government in France.