The daughter of a Russian tourist who died in Cuba, but instead of her father's body received that of a Canadian man, which was then buried, gave a statement to a media outlet in the Eurasian country to provide her version of the events.
His father, named Ilya Neroev, 51 years old, traveled to Cuba on March 20 with his partner. On March 22, they were resting on the beach when he got up to go to the room and never returned.
The couple later found out that he had died, while they only saw the man's covered body and observed the head. Three days later, they returned to Russia.
The daughter of the man claims that they waited for three weeks for the body to arrive in Russia. "When they brought him, his wife went to identify him. Everyone else saw him only in the church, where they asked, 'Who is he? Why does he look different?'," she said.
However, the church assured them that it was normal for the body to undergo changes when a deceased person is embalmed for transport, so they decided to bury him, unaware that their father was on his way to Canada.
Around the same time as Neroev's death, Faraj Allah Jarjour, a sixty-year-old Quebecois, passed away in Cuba. His body was mistakenly sent by Cuban authorities to Russia.
"At least we know where he is. It's not easy for us [...] So far it was lost, I had to search for my father's body," Miriam, Jarjour's daughter, told TVA Nouvelles after the loss of her father's body.
According to the daughter of the Russian Neroev, the corpses were switched and "everything worked out well," after photos were sent between both Cuban embassies in the countries involved.
Due to this mistake, the Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla had to publicly apologize to the government of Canada and to Faraj's family.
Despite the Cuban authorities having promised a full investigation to prevent such errors from happening again in the future, the daughter of the Russian Neroev says she wants to clarify the causes of her father's death.
At first, Neroev's cause of death was believed to be a heart attack, but in the end, the certificate stated "acute pulmonary edema," the Russian outlet reported.
However, he clarified that in photographs sent, signs of bruises can be seen on the father's body. His partner also doubts the official conclusion.