Mortuary closures add to avalanche anguish

HIGHLAND Council has been accused of adding to the trauma of grieving people by closing all the mortuaries in the region except at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

The lack of mortuary facilities in Lochaber became apparent during the recent Glencoe avalanche tragedy when the bodies of the four victims were kept in the garage of the mountain rescue team’s HQ for several hours while the police attempted to identify them before they were transferred to Inverness.

The situation has also prompted a local funeral director to build his own facility because of the “unnecessary distress” he claims the lack of a Fort William mortuary is causing families.