It was then that they realised a horrible mistake had been made - the man in the coffin meant for her grandfather held another body instead.
A mix-up with paperwork at the hospital mortuary had led to her grandfather being buried two days earlier than planned at a funeral for another man.
The Times of Malta report that anonymous sources told them the circumstances around the men’s deaths were very similar. Both men had died from heart conditions. Both men died and were brought to the mortuary on the same day. At some point, the two were confused, leading to one man being sent off to a funeral instead of the other.
RELATED: Dog bite victim wakes up on way to own funeral
The poor family who had already held the funeral for the wrong body arranged a second, private memorial the next day for the correct person.
Malta’s Health Ministry spokesperson told the Times of Malta that an investigation is ongoing into how this came about and steps will be taken to prevent it happening again.
