“The Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve opened an internal investigation, after a serious failure was detected in the morgue, which occurred on November 3, which led to an exchange in the identification of the bodies of two patients who died at the Hospital de Faro”, reads a note sent to the press.

According to the hospital – which includes the units in Faro, Portimão and Lagos -, the situation “led to one of the bodies being improperly collected by the funeral home for cremation, which has already taken place”.

Following this occurrence, the CHUA board of directors “made their positions available”, reads the note.

The hospital's management informs that it has already contacted the families, "deeply regretting what happened and having provided all the necessary support and psychological support".

“We regret this serious incident and to the affected families we offer our deepest apologies and condolences, accompanying them in this moment of pain, aggravated by the disruption of the funeral of their loved ones”, continues the note.

The CHUA administration ensures that the procedures for confirming and verifying the identity of the deceased at that hospital “comply with various safety standards, well defined in the institution, with the investigation intending to ascertain the facts that gave rise to the error and implement changes that appear to be as necessary”.

Lusa tried to obtain additional clarifications about what happened, but a source at the hospital said that there will be no further explanations for the time being.