Sindh has launched a Free Mortuary Van Service through its Health Department, announced minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho in Karachi.

The Sindh Integrated Emergency and Health Services will manage and operate this service.

A total of 25 Mortuary Vans will be used to transport bodies for free throughout Sindh. This will be the first such service of its kind in the province.

Karachi (18.04.23): Sindh Minister Health, Dr.@AzraPechuho inaugurated the launch of 25 @Sindh_iehs mortuary ambulances that will be functional in Karachi & other districts as an expansion of the ambulance service & will be free of cost under 1122 emergency number. #SindhHealth pic.twitter.com/BiBRiBaBzh

— Health and Population Welfare Department, Sindh (@SindhHealthDpt) April 18, 2023

Eight vehicles will be stationed in Karachi, 5 in Hyderabad region, 3 each will be deployed in Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sukkur and Larkana regions.

This is the criteria: This service will be provided free of charge on a first come first served basis to those who cannot afford to transport the bodies of their loved ones.

• This service will be offered without charge to those who cannot afford it after adequate verification.

• Only bodies from hospitals shall be transported by mortuary vans. (This is different for Edhi Foundation, see below).

• This service will initially be only for within the district transportation. However, requests from other districts will be considered after sufficient verification and the availability of a mortuary vehicle.

• The service will be offered based on first-come, first-served basis.

The service will be accessible throughout Sindh by dialing 1122.

Booking a mortuary van

Edhi Foundation provides an ambulance service. If you need to send a body from Karachi to Sukkur, for example, the charges are Rs27,500 (as of April 2023). Other cities are closer and the rates will be lower. Reaching Sukkur takes roughly a full day.

You call 115 and have to visit your nearest Edhi centre where you deposit Rs2,000 as an advance. The ambulance will either come to the hospital or the house.

Chhippa offers this service only in Karachi, according to staffer Ali at the Sohrab Goth centre. They ask people to pay for petrol and some service charges. Similarly, Chhippa has services in Quetta and Lahore but the mortuary vans only operate within the city there as well.