Kam Air to transfer Afghan migrants’ bodies to Kabul

KABUL (Pajhwok): Private airline Kam Air says it plans to bring the bodies of 18 Afghan migrants who died in Bulgaria from Turkey to Kabul.

According to reports, 18 Afghan refugees were found dead in an abandoned truck on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, on Friday, and seven people had been arrested on suspicion of being involved in the case.

Based on reports, 52 Afghans who, after arriving in Bulgaria, probably intended to reach UK, Germany or France, were hiding in the vehicle under wooden boards, but 18 of them died due to suffocation.

An official of Kam Air airline told Pajhwok Afghan News that their firm was considering transferring the bodies of the 18 people from Turkey to Kabul.

“The Kam Air has always brought Afghan bodies to Afghanistan free of cost, and now we assure that we will transfer these bodies from Turkey to Afghanistan as well.”

Also, former foreign minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar wrote on his Twitter page that the Kam Air representative in Turkey in an understanding with Chargé d'affaires of Afghanistan in Bulgaria, expressed the airline’s readiness to assist in the transfer of the bodies from Turkey to Afghanistan and later to the respective provinces.

He added: "The bodies of our martyred compatriots will be transported from Bulgaria to Turkey after forensic examinations. Of course, our people are grateful to Kam Air, which has provided this assistance for the past twenty years."

sa/ma