SITUATION
A Senegalese national who had only recently arrived to live in Korea passed away in hospital following an illness. Her husband was in Korea.
THE FAMILY’S CIRCUMSTANCES
Her husband had lived in Korea for many years and knew the country well. The rest of the family was in Senegal and could not travel, so the husband planned to accompany the deceased home and hold the funeral there.
REQUEST
The family asked that the deceased be repatriated to Dakar airport in Senegal, so that the funeral could be held with her family at home.
WHAT WE DID
01 Obtained the death certificate from the hospital in both Korean and English.
02 Coordinated with the Senegalese Embassy in Korea and completed the consular verification.
03 Embalmed the deceased to international standards and placed her with care in a casket meeting transport requirements.
04 Completed the airline cargo booking and customs procedures.
05 Confirmed that she was received by her family on arrival at the destination airport.
CHALLENGES AND HOW WE RESOLVED THEM
After the initial flight booking had been made and the family notified, the airline informed us of a change to a second schedule. When we passed on the change, the husband told us his own schedule made it impossible — a serious problem. Fortunately, by calling on our contacts, we were able to have the shipment proceed on the original schedule.
TIMELINE
Consular verification, 1 day; embalming and transport preparation, 2 days — approximately 3 days in total.
CLOSING
It was a long journey, but we were able to bring the deceased safely back to her family. After the funeral in Senegal, her husband returned to Korea and sent us a message of thanks.
This case has been written without personally identifying information, to protect the privacy of the family.