Need Urgent Help - how to handle dead body in Canada ?

hyderabadi2006 · Post by **hyderabadi2006** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 9:13 am

A relative of mine who lives in Toronto passed away today. We do not know the reasons yet, and coroner office said they only give those details to immediate family members, more over they haven't performed autopsy yet.
His wife and a small kid are in India visiting (they left 2 weeks back). She is trying to catch the next flight to come here. I am not sure if they have lot of friends and help in Toronto. We decided to go and help her out in anyway we can. Obviously, like most, I have no clue on what are her options. Some of the questions (very difficult to pose these, but I need answers ready when she lands in Toronto)

1. How long it takes to get the possession of the body.
2. How long it takes to transport the body to India ( need all the details here)
3. What is the immigration process involved.
4. What are the other options if we dont take the body to India.
5. Can we get the possession of the body without an immediate family member being present.
6. Are there Telugu Associations or any other Indian Associations that can help to do whatever his family decides.

Provide Any other information you think might be helpful for this sad situation.

DoctorJ · Post by **DoctorJ** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 9:28 am

I'd suggest that you contact the Indian Embassy immediately...I'm sure they'll provide a lot of guidance and help.
==============================================
Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. -DJ

Desi · Post by **Desi** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 5:45 pm

hyderabadi2006;31212A relative of mine who lives in Toronto passed away today. We do not know the reasons yet, and coroner office said they only give those details to immediate family members, more over they haven't performed autopsy yet.
His wife and a small kid are in India visiting (they left 2 weeks back). She is trying to catch the next flight to come here. I am not sure if they have lot of friends and help in Toronto. We decided to go and help her out in anyway we can. Obviously, like most, I have no clue on what are her options. Some of the questions (very difficult to pose these, but I need answers ready when she lands in Toronto)

1. How long it takes to get the possession of the body.
2. How long it takes to transport the body to India ( need all the details here)
3. What is the immigration process involved.
4. What are the other options if we dont take the body to India.
5. Can we get the possession of the body without an immediate family member being present.
6. Are there Telugu Associations or any other Indian Associations that can help to do whatever his family decides.

Provide Any other information you think might be helpful for this sad situation.[/quote]

Here is information from Totonto consulate on Transport of dead body.
http://www.cgitoronto.ca/Miscellaneous%20Services%20Form.pdf

Commercial airlines do transport bodies from time to time. To my understanding the coffin is either a special type of coffin such that there is some mechanism of cooling via chemicals or other means and insulation. I do not know the details, but calling one of the major airlines, details can be sought. Total cost of transport of a body with coffin may cost as much as $6k to 10K ( I am working from memeory and second hand information in case of an accident victim in Atlanta that had to be transported to India).

You would need to obtain death certificate here.

You would need information as to what procedures would be required at India from Immigration, customs and health depts for an arrival of dead body. This information should be available at one of the indian consulates. It is tough to get hold of Indian consulate on phone. If not paying a personal visit to a consulate, You should gather telephone #s of 20 plus consulates across the country and start calling till you get hold of someone. Also peruse the form the link to which I have posted above that pertains to this.

There are situations where information is released to who are not next of kin - I know of an instance, do not have all the details. If I can obtain those today, I shall post.

Cremation is done at many funeral homes in Toronto and they will provide ashes in an Urn that can be taken to India or alternately the body can be taken to India.

There are temples in Toronto, where you can obtain services of a Brahmin to perform rites ( this is assuming a Hindu family). Similarly for other faiths such services should be available. http://www.devimandir.com/

Also, Telugu associations of Toronto will also provide more information.

http://www.tana.org/
http://www.telugutoronto.com/about.htm
Telugu Cultural Association of Greater Toronto ( Contact info at bottom of page)
http://www.teluguworld.org/telasn.html

The various associations have certainly dealt with these issues and will be able to provide more information.

Desi · Post by **Desi** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 5:58 pm

From the document - link posted in previous post.

DEATH CASES
Registration:

Death of all Indian nationals should be registered with the Consulate by submitting the prescribed
application together with the death certificate, passport of the deceased and fee of C$ 32.00.

Requirements for transportation of dead body to India:

1. Registration of Death with the Consulate ( in case of Indian nationals only).
2. Death Certificate in original and a copy thereof.
3. Burial permit.
4. Letter from Public Health Office indicating No Communicable disease .
5. Embalming Certificate, Coroners Out of Province Certificate
6. Flight details and , Name, address, telephone number, etc of the consignee.
7. Fee for sealing of the body, etc C$ 195.00.

Requirements for transportation of ashes:

1. Registration of Death with the Consulate (in case of Indian nationals only).
2. Death Certificate in original and a copy thereof.
3. Cremation certificate.
4. Certificate of packing indicating name, age, date, time and cause of death, contents of package.
5. Passport of the deceased.
6. Name, address and passport particulars of the person taking the ashes.

7. Fees: C$ 48/- for Indian nationals; C$ 16/- for others.

Desi · Post by **Desi** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 8:00 pm

[QUOTE]There are situations where information is released to who are not next of kin - I know of an instance, do not have all the details. If I can obtain those today, I shall post.

I did talk to someone close to the situation and they said that in that case, a letter from the wife in India, notarized was sent authorizing another distant relative to take possesion of the body and ship to India.

prasad · Post by **prasad** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 8:27 pm

My condolences to the family. I came across similar situation 3-4 years back.

Atleast in the US, the body goes to the funeral home. The cost of funeral home varies depending on the no. of days you keep the body (approx. 4000$ for a week). Other option is to cremate.

Hope this helps

kalpesh145 · Post by **kalpesh145** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 9:37 pm

My condolences to you and your relative's family.

One of my friend's friend died couple of years ago in Bay Area, he was on H1 here. His parents were in India. When they tried to send the body back home for cremation, the total transportation cost was mentioned around 30K. Then his parens flew over and they did cremation here.

So, please make sure you talk to some officials and get an estimate before making the decision.

kalpesh145 · Post by **kalpesh145** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 9:47 pm

OP,
If you plan to call their family to canada for cremation, the hopsital authority can give you a letter (talk to Social worker in that hospital) which can help their famiily to get quick visa, if needed.
Also, I believe airlines give you preference if you mention about this death when booking the tickets.

ARGS · Post by **ARGS** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 10:31 pm

My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved. Since we (in this forum) are not aware of the circumstances surrounding the untimely death of your friend relative, here are some tips that may seem useful.

1. Depending on the age and general health of the deceased, you may want to investigate to see whether he died of natural causes or if he was suffering from an ailment that he may not have disclosed to the rest of the family due to obvious reasons.
2. If the latter is true, he may have left hints or instructions for his wife and other close relatives about his last wishes and/or details regarding other matters of importance. Therefore, you may want to ask his wife to see if there are any visible clues (email trail, files or documents) that he may have left behind. It would also be a good idea to check to see if he had prepared a will of some sort.
3. Finally, you may want to ask his wife to reach out to his employer at the time of death (if he was a working professional) in particular, the HR department for other formalities. In many cases, depending on where he was employed, there may be a possibility of establishing a trust fund for the child's future education based on the proceeds of his insurance and other settlements.

I know that this is a very delicate time for the entire family and I pray that God grant you all the strength and courage to go through these dark hours.

Desi_by_Nature · Post by **Desi_by_Nature** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 1:41 am

kalpesh145;31266Also, I believe airlines give you preference if you mention about this death when booking the tickets.[/quote]

I lost a close family member earllier this year in India and wanted to fly back right away. I tried checking with several airlines for "bereavement fares" or "compassionate fares" and none of the airlines was able to offer me any economy seat for less than $4,000.
Some airline sales reps even said they don't have any fares available in this category at this time - i'm not sure what that means.

Luckily I checked online and got a good fare from Expedia for a flight taking off within a few hours.