KARACHI, April 21: A complaint by relatives of some of the air crash victims that they had to make payment to the airline which brought the bodies from Islamabad has prompted an inquiry.

It was brought to the notice of Sharmila Farooqi, Adviser to the Sindh Chief Minister, at he Karachi airport, which she visited on Saturday to condole with relatives waiting for bodies, that some employees of the airline responsible for handling and bringing back the victims’ remains to Karachi had charged them up to Rs12,000.

However, an official of the Civil Aviation Authority attempted damage limitation, saying that the office order for allowing free transportation was received a bit late. “The order to transport the bodies free of charge came at 10am on Saturday. By that time some people had already made payment. They will be refunded, of course.”

The body of a former technical adviser to President Zardari, Raza Ali Khan Feroz, was also being brought back on PK 301 on Saturday afternoon. Showing the receipt as proof to media gathered at the airport, his nephew Syed Ali Khan said: “I paid Rs4,545 to transport my uncle’s body to Karachi from Islamabad. They charged me Rs35 per kilogram.”

Mohammad Saleem, the uncle of another victim, Mohammad Irfan Rao, said he paid Rs12,000 to bring his nephew’s body to Karachi.

Sharmila Farooqi apologised all those who paid money for bringing the bodies to Karachi and promised to see to it that the sum was refunded.

By evening the facilitation desk at the Jinnah Terminal here sounded apologetic about any problems caused to the victims’ families.

Mohammad Khan Rind, assistant commissioner Scheme 33, and an employee of the Board of Revenue stationed at the facilitation desk during the day, informed Dawn that an inquiry had already been ordered to look into the matter. “I believe it was just one person asking everyone for money. But as far as I know the Federal Minister for Defense Ahmed Mukhtar has been brought into the entire affair now. He has been asked by the Presidency to start an inquiry in order to look into the matter,” he said.