Kochi: The mortal remains of the five Keralites killed in the June 9 bus accident in Kenya will be brought to Kochi on Sunday. The mortal remains will be brought to the Cochin International Airport in a Qatar Airways flight scheduled to land at 8.45 am.

The mortal remains of Muvattupuzha native Jesna (29), her one-year-and-half daughter Ruhi Mehrin, Geetha Shoji Isaac (58) of Cherukol, Mavelikkara; Riya Ann (41) of Mannur, Palakkad and her daughter Taira Rodriguez (7) will be received by Norka Roots on behalf of the state government. The bodies will be taken to their homes from the airport.

Though there was some confusion over flying the mortal remains and the accompanying relatives from Kenya over a vaccination rule, the hurdle was cleared with the central government allowing a special relaxation following Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's request.

Uncertainty over the flight arose as it is mandatory to have a yellow vaccine certificate for those flying to India. The passengers were informed of it by the travel agency arranging the trip only a few hours before the flight was scheduled to start.

The representatives of the Loka Kerala Sabha in Kenya contacted the Norka Roots, seeking immediate intervention to sort out the issue. The chief minister then conveyed the issue to the Centre.

The decision to exempt the accident victims and their relatives from the yellow vaccine rule was made in immediate consultations with the central government, Kerala health department, and Norka Roots.

The five Keralites killed in the accident were part of a group of 28 Indians visiting Kenya. The accident took place as the bus they were travelling in got out of control and fell into a gorge in the north eastern county of Nyandarua, 150 km from Nairobi.