BROOKLYN, NY– An Ecumenical Service and burial for loved ones who lost their lives during Hurricane Dorian will take place in The Bahamas on Friday 22, May 2020.

Months after the powerful storm devastated sections of the territory, the service, to be led by religious leaders from the Abaco Christian Council and the wider Christian community will be held.

According to Archdeacon Keith Cartwright, there will be a graveside ecumenical service followed by a burial, taking into consideration the necessary COVID-19 protocols.

The service was previously postponed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Cartwright the ceremony will be a time for all to “remember the impact Hurricane Dorian has had on our communities and as good Christian people pay our final respects”.

The 55 Hurricane Dorian victims in Abaco will be individually interred, although forensic DNA profiling analysis is ongoing.

Meanwhile, despite some delays within the operations of laboratories internationally, the Royal Bahamas Police Force has indicated that collaboration with a highly recognized laboratory, very skilled in dealing with DNA sampling, is proving good results.

It is anticipated that the receipt of some results is expected soon.

The police say that the analysis of the samples proved very difficult and challenging. Hence, more specialized DNA analysis methods were sought, which impacted the ability to provide closure to families in a timelier fashion.

“We have been advised by Coroner Jeanine Weech-Gomez that best practices have been used in number identification of each set of remains. The remains are numbered, the sealer caskets are numbered, and the graves will be numbered with weatherproof plates. This system will assist in providing certified death certificates. Those numbers match the DNA sampling of each decedent. When the forensic exercise is complete each family will be afforded the choice of family memorialization.”

Hurricane Dorian hit Abaco and Grand Bahama in September 2019. It was the strongest storm to hit The Bahamas.