All remains from Mahdia fire identified following DNA testing

The Ministry of Health yesterday said that all of the remains from the horrific fire on Sunday at Mahdia have been identified following DNA testing and families can now take possession of them.

A statement from the Ministry said that at 12.30 pm yesterday, the Government of Guyana (GoG) obtained the DNA results matching the names of thirteen bodies from the Mahdia fire tragedy that were previously not visually identified. The statement said that the GoG is in a position now to release these bodies to the families of the deceased for funeral arrangements.

The ministry said that DNA analyses were conducted on fourteen bodies, the thirteen bodies of girls from the Mahdia fire and one body of a boy who also died in the fire. The samples from the forensic specimens were obtained from thirteen bodies by a Specialist Pathologist through a bilateral arrangement between Guyana and Barbados while another forensic specimen was obtained from a young boy and was taken by Guyanese Pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh. These specimens were compared to DNA samples taken from parents and siblings.

The statement said that the DNA analyses were conducted by the Pathology Laboratory of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City. Dr. Carlos Cordon-Cardo, Professor and Systems Chair led a team of experts in conducting the analyses.

“The Government of Guyana is grateful for the forensic examination and analyses that were done by the pathologist from Barbados, Dr Shubhaker

Karra Paul, who came to Guyana under the auspices of the Regional Security System. The Government is also grateful to Dr Nehaul Singh for completing the initial set of postmortems in Mahdia”, the statement added.

Gratitude was also expressed to the Mount Sinai team that has been working with Guyana over the last year. The statement said that the Mount Sinai team contributed their expertise to complete the DNA analyses in record time.

The government said it is also grateful to the Hess Corporation for providing transportation to air-dash the specimens and samples from Georgetown to New York. The oil company Hess is one of the partners in Guyana’s offshore Stabroek Block.

The statement said that arrangements have been put in place by the Guyana Police Force for families to take possession of the remains.

The government is also providing assistance and support to all families for funerals over the following days, the statement added.