23.12.2025 11:35
During the procedures at Balıkesir Atatürk State Hospital, two funerals were mixed up. The late Nuri Erzaim's daughter experienced the shock of her life when she received a call from her husband saying, "We can't find my father." It turned out that Erzaim's body had been sent to Gönen, which is 150 kilometers away. The bodies were sent to the correct addresses just in time for the afternoon prayers.
In Balıkesir, due to the mix-up of funerals, the wrong body was sent 150 kilometers away.
The family of the deceased, an 85-year-old man who passed away at Balıkesir Atatürk State Hospital, experienced the shock of their lives when they went to retrieve the body for funeral arrangements. Özlem Atasü, who could not find her deceased father, claimed that the body they intended to bury in Balıkesir was sent to Sarıköy Neighborhood in Gönen, which is 150 kilometers away, while the body that was supposed to go to Gönen was given to them. Although the confusion was resolved and the bodies were sent to the correct addresses, the funerals that were planned to take place after the noon prayer barely made it in time for the afternoon prayer.
"WE CAN'T FIND MY FATHER"
Nuri Erzaim, the former director of Edremit SSK Hospital, passed away at the age of 85 at Atatürk State Hospital. The grieving family requested that the body be taken to the morgue, stating they wanted to bury it on Monday. When the family arrived at the hospital on Monday, they were shocked. Officials could not find a body under the name 'Nuri Erzaim' in the morgue, and when they showed the only remaining male body to the family, the scandal emerged. Speaking about the incident, the late Nuri Erzaim's daughter Özlem Atasü said, "I have no idea how this mix-up happened. My husband went to the hospital in the morning to retrieve the body. They checked the bodies and then called me, saying 'We can't find my father.' I asked, 'Where is my father?' and they asked me, 'Do you know where he was placed?' I rushed to the hospital. My father was gone," she said.
"WE OPENED THE BODY AND SHOWED IT, THEY SAID 'OKAY'"
Continuing to recount the events at Zağnos Paşa Mosque, Atasü said, "They told us the body went to Edremit in the morning, then it was understood that it was sent to Gönen in the evening. It's unclear if the body that went to Gönen is my father. He could have been buried there. In short, they think the body that was supposed to go to Gönen got mixed up because it was in the morgue in Balıkesir. My father is a big man, while the other deceased was smaller in stature compared to him. After experiencing the incident, I called the Health Ministry hotline 184 to file a complaint. Ultimately, our body was sent to Gönen the night before, and today they took the body that was supposed to go to Gönen. They brought my father's body back from Gönen. Thankfully, the body that arrived was my father’s and he had not been buried. They explained to us, 'We opened the body and showed it, and they said okay and took it.' A person can mix things up in their grief, but don't you have any records? Didn't you check the writings, the names? I don't understand how such a mix-up happens," she said.
After the confusion, the late Nuri Erzaim was buried in Balıkesir following the funeral prayer performed after the afternoon prayer.
On the other hand, the other funeral that experienced the mix-up reached the Sarıköy Neighborhood in Gönen. The deceased was buried in the district cemetery following the funeral prayer held at the neighborhood mosque.