Body of misidentified flashfloods victim laid to rest

AMMAN — Hind Azzeh, who died in the flashfloods at the Dead Sea area, was laid to rest on Sunday in Jerash, as condolences continued to roll in.

Family members of Azzeh’s classmate, Sara Abu Sido, who perished in the same incident, also participated in the funeral, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The Azzeh family identified and buried the wrong body, instead of their daughter, who had been killed among 21 others when schoolchildren were swept away in a flashflood near the Dead Sea on Thursday. 

The National Institute of Forensic Medicine (NIFM) said the DNA test results explained the mystery of an unidentified body, the only one remaining anonymous after the incident. 

In a statement, NIFM explained that the family of another female student killed in the incident (the Azzeh family) had mistakenly identified the body of another girl as their daughter and had buried her. 

NIFM did the DNA test after the family of the last person to be reported missing in Thursday’s flashflood, said that the body of the girl in the morgue did not belong to their daughter.

In videos circulated on social media, the father of the missing girl cited differences between his girl and that of the girl at the morgue. In one of the videos, he is seen saying that his daughter has shorter hair, more aligned teeth and did not wear jewellery, indicating that the girl retrieved on Friday seemed older than his daughter.

The confusion kept the search for the teenage girl ongoing on Saturday in the Zarqa-Maeen Valley near the Dead Sea but it came to an end late in the same day, after the DNA announcement, according to authorities.

The Abu Sido family decided to keep their daughter’s body buried at the Jerash cemetery beside her classmates Hind and Reem Azzeh.

Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, HRH Prince Faisal, accompanied by Royal Hashemite Court Chief Yousef Issawi, on Sunday paid visits to the families of victims of Thursday’s flashfloods near the Dead Sea.

Prince Faisal visited the students’ houses of condolences and offered His Majesty’s condolences to the families of students Rayan Tahrawi, Awad Al Ali and Sara Abu Sido, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

His Majesty the King delegated Their Royal Highnesses Prince Faisal, Prince Ali, Prince Hamzah and Prince Hashem on Saturday to offer condolences to the families and relatives of a number of students and citizens who died in the Dead Sea incident.

Also on Sunday, the Lower House-based “Mubadara” initiative group offered condolences to the families of the victims who died in the incident last Thursday, expressing sorrow and sadness over the incident that saddened and pained the hearts of all Jordanians.

A delegation of dignitaries, sheikhs and children from the Gaza Strip on Saturday also paid a visit to the Jordanian field hospital “Gaza 54” and offered their condolences to the families of the victims of the Dead Sea incident.