The body of a Chinese national who had been living in Ireland illegally for several months is lying unclaimed in a Dublin hospital morgue.
The man, who was in his mid-40s and who had no relatives here, died in the Mater Hospital on Tuesday following a brief illness.
Hospital authorities have frantically spent the last three days trying to track down the man's family in China.
The dead man's wife was eventually contacted yesterday and informed of her husband's death by telephone. But it is still unclear if she is in a position to come to Ireland to make funeral arrangements for her husband.
It is understood that the woman intends to apply for a visa at the Irish Embassy in Beijing and is trying to raise the money to make the journey here.
A hospital spokeswoman confirmed last night that a Chinese man had died in the hospital on July 30th. But she said that she could not comment in more detail on individual cases due to patient confidentiality.
However, she described the situation as "tragic" and predicted that, with the huge increase in the numbers of asylum-seekers coming to Ireland, the hospital would more than likely see repeat cases in the future.
The spokeswoman said this was the first time the hospital had to deal with the death of a foreigner based illegally in Ireland who had no other family members in the country.
She said that the hospital was anxious to work with ethnic communities in Dublin to learn of the various cultural and religious differences.
"This will allow us to treat these cases as sensitively as possible," she said. "This is new ground for us and we were unsure of how to handle the situation."
The Chinese embassy in Dublin could not be contacted for comment last night.
It is understood that if no one claims the dead man's body, the Eastern Health Board is prepared to bury him.
The hospital has said that it cannot hold on to the body indefinitely.
The Irish Chinese Information Centre, which was set up in May to assist Chinese nationals living in Dublin, has been asked to help in the case.
Attempts had been made before the man died to have him flown back to China, but his condition deteriorated quickly and his illegal status led to difficulty in making arrangements.
There are an estimated 30,000 Chinese now living in Ireland. However, unlike other foreigners who come to live here, the vast majority of Chinese come to Ireland legally on student or business visas.
Chinese have a reputation for keeping their heads down and studying and working hard while in Ireland.
Young Chinese who come here on student visas can now work up to 20 hours a week.