Step by step instructions to air transport dead
body:
 |
| Transporting Dead body by Air India Cargo |
I needed to do it for someone very close.
Without going into the expressive subtle elements, I would concentrate more on
truth n facts.
On and off, chances are there that if somebody
lands up in a similar circumstance, I personally feel that this article may
help the person, up to some extent. In spite of the fact that this happened in a metro city, however,
the procedure is same all over India.
First thing first, to get on the track now.
In the event that you need to transport dead body
to an adjacent or nearby town, then ambulances are accessible at most of the
hospitals. No need to rush any hospital. Just dial “JUST DIAL” from your phone.
In case you don’t have their number, just dial 8 ten times i.e. 088 88 88 88 88
and they can provide you local ambulance providers contact info on your phone
with address and number, and this process takes only 30 to 45 seconds. (one
thing to keep in mind is just ensure to ask them to not forward your phone
number to various ambulance providers,
as they may do so by default, and it can be difficult to handle in-flooding
calls of various persons asking for your ambulance requirements, in such
emotional and grieving time).
For the convenience of readers, I am describing
what documents are needed for safe and quick transportation of body.
1 PNR number of booking for the passenger with whom the dead body
will be booked as cargo.
2 Death Certificate from a Doctor.
3 Police Clearance.
4 Embalming Certificate.
5 Coffin Certificate.
We should dive into above points of interest at
this point. Let’s get into some details of above 5 documents now, and some
details about process too. How to do it sequencely, will be described later:-
PNR number of flight:
The dead body is packed in a coffin and booked as
normal cargo. One person must travel on the same flight. Book the ticket as
usual. You will get the PNR number from here.
Death Certificate:
If death happened in hospital then the hospital
provides a certificate.
If the death happened at home then NO HOSPITAL
can provide you death certificate if you bring the person as dead to them. This
is rule. Do not waste time to go to a hospital and argue with authorities
there.
You need to contact a nearby clinic or nursing
home. Talk to any doctor there. If deceased person was in terminal stage and a
doctor was visiting then he/she should be able to provide the death
certificate. If the deceased person was in terminal stage but NO doctor was
visiting then try to contact the nearby doctor in advance. Tell him/her the
medical history. The Doctor may look at the medical reports and make a visit as
well. All this is done to ensure that the death is natural. If the death
happened naturally but suddenly, then things may get complicated. You still
need to visit the nearby doctor and explain him/her the situation. A family
doctor can help also. If relatives are around then call them. In such situation
doctor should be convinced that the death is natural. I guess, it depends on
family to family on what they want to do when a fully healthy person dies
suddenly. I do not know the options here. Talk to a nearby hospital or doctor
on the possible ways out. Resolve the matter with the doctor completely and get
him in confidence otherwise getting Police NOC will be a problem later.
Format of Death Certificate:
The Death Certificate must have:
1.
Name of deceased person.
2.
Age
3.
Gender
4.
Name of Father or Husband.
5.
Place of death (Current residence)
6.
Cause of Death.
7.
If there have a known terminal decease, write that as
well.
8.
Name and Sign of Doctor.
9.
Registration number and seal of Doctor. DO NOT MISS THIS. Missing
this will make the certificate unacceptable at multiple places.
Police Clearance:
Visit the police station which has the
jurisdiction to the place of death. Tell them that you need the police
clearance certificate to transport the body out of the city. They may ask
several questions and see documents as well. The whole idea is to ensure that
the death is natural and no crime is involved. Tell them the deceased person
has the native to the other city. Bring ID proofs, address proof (both local
and native) and medical reports. Last discharge summary is the most important
document. Best is to carry ALL the documents with you. They look at the
doctor’s death certificate and discuss among themselves to be sure that there
is no police angle. They may visit the place of death as well. You need to
write an application. If things are straight forward then the will write a
Police NOC saying:
To Whom So Ever Concern
This is to certify that X aged about 100 years
residing at [current address] expired on [date] due to [reason as
mentioned by the Doctor on Death Certificate] natural death.
There is no objection to carry the dead
body to his/her native place to [native city].
Ensure to have seal and signature from the Police
station.
Embalming Certificate:
Embalming must be done before transporting the body
on plane. This facility is available at all the big government hospitals or at
least the hospitals that have medical colleges as well. Search for the
Department of Anatomy or something similar section. People at such place are
generally helpful. They mostly work any time of the day in case of emergency.
If the death happened during night then the department may be closed. You may
need to contact the Information desk at the emergency department of the
hospital to get someone’s phone number. Try visiting the department just in
case someone is still there.
Once you take the body here, they will verify the
Death Certificate. The process of Embalming will not take much time (less than
an hour). The charges can be variable (approx. Rs 5,000/-(INR)) which you need
to pay to the billing counter at OPD or Emergency.
While embalming, grooming and clothing of the
body is also done. If you want the body to have some kind of make up or want a
particular dress then bring all that with you. All religions have different
traditions. Consult elders in the family for details. But this is the best time,
if you plan to do something like this.
Finally the body is sealed inside the coffin.
After inspection, Embalming Certificate is provided. Embalming Certificate says
that the body does not provide any hazard and safe for transport by air.
Coffin Certificate:
You need a coffin to transport the body. There
are many agencies for this purpose. Just use “JUST DIAL”route or Google Search
Route, if time permits. Best bet is assign this job to some relative or
neighbor. For convenience of my readers, especially those living in any metro
city of India, try to call Mr. Daniel Pintoo (09845173349), He might be of some
help to you. He is very helpful person. You can reach him in case of emergency
any hour of the day. Tell him the place from where you are calling and the
purpose. He might have other contacts in other cities too, to provide you
someone’s contact number to find a transport vehicle, a coffin along with 2
persons. You can shift the body from home to the Embalming section on this
vehicle. These people will bring a coffin with them. After embalming, the body
will be sealed inside the coffin. After inspection coffin certificate will be
provided.
You have all the documents now. But documents
will not do the transport. Read my personal experience below to find what I
did. People at Embalming section or Mr. Daniel Pintoo or someone like him will
guide you on low level details.
A Golden tip, since you are here for a purpose.
If you are here in advance, for a solution to problem that is approaching you
slowly n steadily. . . then
In each City, there is a big hospital, Choose
biggest Govt. hospital (Private, if there is no big govt. hospital). There must
be a person like DANIEL PINTOO, who used to do such work. Don’t hesitate, ask
from Doctors, hospital staff, nearby medical shops, peon, sweepers, whoever u
find there. . . and you will find that person (at least his contact number).
Believe me. . . in such a situation, people relates such a person with “next to
god”. He might rip you some extra cash, but don’t worry, he can save u from
extreme situation, to get through ordeal you are going through. And yes, you
can get this money thing in rest of your life. . . later.
At this crisis of life, it is important to manage
what to do when?
When to do what
Very first
thing is to get Death Certificate from Doctor.
Call Embalming Section (of big govt. hospital)
and Coffin Agency (Mr. Daniel Pintoo) in parallel.
Book passenger flight ticket. This will give idea how
much time you have. You must reach airport before 3 hours before departure. Add
time for embalming, road transport and airport transport time to this. In
short, book flight with at least 8 hours in your hands.
(Mr. Daniel Pintoo) will take around 1 hour to
reach the place of death. You can run around the Doctor in this time to arrange
the death certificate. Do not move the body unless you have the Death
Certificate.
Move the body to the Embalming Section. Let Mr. Daniel
Pintoo go ahead with this.
Go to the Police Station.
After getting the police NOC, go to the embalming
section. Make the payments there. You will have all the documents there.
6 set of Photocopies of all the documents are
needed. If you are in odd timings when the shops are closed (midnight?), then
talk to a friend or relative if they can go to their offices and get the
photocopies. Most of the big offices have photocopy machines working 24x7.
Mr. Daniel Pintoo will transport the body to the
airport cargo section. The passenger may choose to go with him (him means pinto,
not last remains) or later if you still have time. But make sure to reach there
before 3 hours of departure.
Book the coffin as cargo. Mr. Daniel Pintoo will
guide you to the process. Get the receipts with you.
Go to the terminal and travel as usual.
Get down from the plane at the destination. Cargo
takes much longer time to come out. Though human remains are highest priority
but they cannot move faster than walking humans.
Show the receipt and collect the coffin at the
destination.
Things
to carry while running around:
ALL the medical reports, specially the last
discharge summary.
PEN
Blank papers to write applications
Lots of cash
ID and Address proof of the deceased person. Both
original and at least 5 photocopies.
ID and Address proof of the person making the
application. Both original and at least 5 photocopies.
Cost:
Coffin Charges: 12,000 + 1000 (tip for helping me
out with utmost sincerity at this tough time)
Embalming: 5000.
Death Certificate: 1,000/- (Doctor’s
charges to visit home and write the certificate)
Police NOC: 200. (Should be free of change
ideally. But you know what I mean)
Cargo Charges: 6,400/- (Charges while booking
coffin. All airlines transport human remains on discounted prices. Air India
gives maximum discount).
Passenger tickets. Variable. But generally high
do to last moment booking. Consider Rs. 18,000/- per person on an average in
such urgency.
Note:- All things narrated here are not my work
only. It is the result of atleast 100 sites/blogs surfed tirelessly, personal experience of several anonymous and known persons, in order to produce
this content. However, I have tried my best to put soul to this article on my own, and
have explained in detail, what, when and how to do in such circumstance when you need to Air Transport Dead Body of your Near & Dear Relative.