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Bereaved parents have launched a bold plot to hijack a hearse and steal the body of a dead Ebola victim in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the deadly virus ravaged the country.
According to the Ministry of Health, the body would belong to a woman who died earlier at the Beni Ebola treatment center in the north-east of the country.
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The bodies of Ebola victims must be buried appropriately in order to prevent the spread of highly contagious disease. However, the woman's relatives managed to convince the intervention team to relax the protocols and allow the hearse to be driven by a family member. Officials also agreed to provide the five family members with protective equipment so that they could carry the casket.
On the way to the burial site, the hearse suddenly slipped and rushed to another neighborhood. A police car, escorting the vehicle, tried to pursue the culprits but was then taken away by an angry mob of local residents.
The "thieves" panicked and "Realized their mistake" almost immediately, and turned the next day, officials said. They volunteered to be vaccinated and claimed that no one had tried to open the casket and remove the infected cadaver from the body bag.
The corpse was returned and relatives apologized for the incident.
The department's statement does not indicate the reasons for the theft. However, it is believed that the main motive is the distrust of local communities with regard to the government's intentions.
An Ebola outbreak in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri occurred in early August. More than 160 people were infected, 90 of whom died as a result of the extremely dangerous virus.
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