The grieving family of twin sisters who died in a Scottish river were forced to carry their ashes home in backpacks, unable to afford the staggering £45,000 cost of transporting their bodies in coffins.
A National Tragedy in Aberdeen
Henrietta and Eliza Huszti, both 32 years old, vanished in the early hours of January 7, 2025, in Aberdeen. Their disappearance sparked extensive searches and gripped the nation. Nearly a month later, on January 31, their bodies were recovered from the River Dee, close to where they were last seen. Official death certificates recorded the cause for both women as drowning.
A Family's Heartbreaking Ordeal
In a raw and emotional interview with Hungarian publication Bors, the twins' brother, József Huszti, detailed the family's ongoing struggle with grief and the immense practical challenges they faced. He described the past year as the most difficult of their lives, compounded by the logistical nightmare of dealing with the tragedy from abroad.
"We had to go to the place where they were found," József revealed. "We went to their flat, where their clothes and belongings were still there. We had to arrange the cremation because we didn't have enough money to bring them home in coffins."
The Crushing Financial Burden
The family was quoted approximately £45,000 to repatriate the sisters' bodies to Hungary in coffins, a sum they simply could not pay. Faced with this impossible financial barrier, they made the agonising decision to have the twins cremated in Scotland. According to the Daily Record, József then personally carried the urns containing his sisters' ashes in his backpack on the flight home.
"We still can't process it," József admitted, marking the painful first anniversary of their deaths. "This is a very difficult time for us, all the family members have been commemorating, we have lit candles and put up their photos. This is the first anniversary, which is very painful."
The case of Eliza and Henrietta Huszti highlights not only a profound personal loss but also the severe and often overlooked financial strains placed on families coping with a death overseas.
