A coffin.

(Illustration) -

Maxime Le Pihif / SIPA

The funeral services of Vienna (Austria) “forgot” the body of a man in his apartment, leaving him on his deathbed more than two months after the death certificate.

This is an extremely rare error depending on the city.

Sonja Vicht, a spokesperson for the municipality, confirmed on Tuesday that the body of the deceased had not been taken to the morgue according to the usual procedure.

On November 11, 2020, the neighbor of the 66-year-old man had found him dead.

She took care of him because he had been ill for a long time, and knew neither family nor relatives,

Looking for a possible family

She then called the police and gave him the keys to the house, she told ORF television.

She thought this man had been buried for a long time, but while accompanying a notary who was looking for a possible will on the spot, she found him still lying on his bed… on January 27th.

“This is an unfortunate combination of circumstances and a communication problem” between the team that found the death and the funeral directors, said Nikolaus Salzer, director of the city's hygiene center.

He launched an internal investigation and said "he had never heard of such a case."

The municipal funeral directors have specified “not yet have a date for the funeral”.

"We are still trying to find out if there is any family who would like to organize them," said a spokesperson, Florian Keusch.

If the research remains unsuccessful, "it is the city which will organize the burial", he said, so that the deceased can finally rest with dignity.

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