Burial at sea turns into farce

Sea burials are not a common occurrence in Malta, but a recent one created some embarrassing moments when a coffin containing the corpse of a foreigner, was lowered into the waters only to float straight back to the surface.

Much to the consternation of all those present a second Armed Forces patrol boat had to be called on the scene to help complete the sinking operation.

Contacted by MaltaToday neither the department of public health nor the Armed Forces would comment on the incident for fear of distressing relatives who are still on the island.

The procedures to ensure that the coffin eventually sinks are lengthy but occasionally problems do crop up.

Principal health inspector Malcolm Micallef explained that the body is tied to a metal beam and placed in a wooden coffin, which is drilled throughout with two-inch holes. A brick is also tied to the closed coffin.

The burial is supervised by officials from the department of public health who accompany the coffin aboard Armed Forces of Malta patrol boats and witness the burial procedures out at sea.

The public health official admitted that there are instances when the coffin proves difficult to sink. Dr Micallef said that even the quality of the wood utilised for the coffin itself might influence the sinking procedure, since certain types of wood can prove to be extremely floatable and likely to cause problems.

"After the coffin is sunk, we have to wait a while to check that it does not emerge again, and in fact there have been occasional cases in which this has occurred," he said while refraining from commenting on the particular case.

Lt. Col. Mario Schembri from the AFM explained that the department of health chooses the site where the burial is effected.

"The AFM is contacted by the funeral director, who requests our services against payment," he said. "We are not authorised to check the coffin’s preparations, and so we always have public health personnel on board to see to these."

The burial location is approximately five miles away from the shores, at a depth of 72 fathoms. Official figures show that in the past three years only two sea burials were effected per year and it is mostly foreigners who have requested such a ceremony.