Montreal family receives the wrong body covered in tattoos after 68-year-old father died on vacation in Cuba: Relatives given a corpse of Russian man 20 years younger with full head of hair

A Montreal-area family is still holding out hope they can recover the body of their father, who died while on vacation in Cuba, after they received the corpse of another man.

Faraj Allah Jarjour, 68, was swimming with daughter Miriam Jarjour, both from Laval, Canada, when he suffered a heart attack at a beach near Varadero.

Miriam Jarjour revealed that a funeral service that was scheduled for Sunday and Monday was abruptly cancelled after the family noticed that they had received the remains of a Russian man about 20 years younger than her father. 

The body had a full head of hair and tattoo.

The grief-stricken makeup artist said she has not been able to get a response from officials in an attempt to find her father’s body.

'Up until now we have no answer,' she said. 'Where is my father?'

Miriam Jarjour said her father was pulled out of the water and immediately provided CPR.

The family almost an hour before a doctor arrived and confirmed that he was dead.

Faraj Allah Jarjour (second from right), pictured here with his daughter Miriam Jarjour (left), wife (second from left) and son Karam Jarjour (right), died while on vacation in Cuba on March 22 after he suffered a heart attack while swimming at a beach. The family postponed his funeral service after receiving the corpse of a Russian man

The corpse of Faraj Allah Jarjour spent almost eight hours on the beach near Varadero, Cuba, before it was transported by car to Havana

The boy remained on the beach for eight hours on a chair and covered with a blanket before authorities arrived and took it to Havana.

'We’re sad because my father died,' Karam Jarjour told Global News. 'But we’re more sad because my father is we don’t know where.'

The family said it followed the guidance of the Canadian consulate and paid $7,300 to repatriate the body.

The coffin arrived late last week with the body of a Russian man. His body has since been sent to Russia.

Miriam Jarjour reached out to officials at the Canadian consulate, and they have blamed the company that manages the return of remains.

She says she has been emailing other government officials, including her Member of Parliament, who has agreed to reach out to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly.

'I’m honestly destroyed,' Miriam Jarjour said. 'Up until now, we have no answers. We’re waiting. I don’t know what to tell you.'

Faraj Allah Jarjour died while on vacation in Cuba, but his family has been unable to hold a funeral service because they received the body of a Russian 20 years younger than him. The family has been in contact with Canadian consulate officials in hopes of locating his body

Faraj Allah Jarjour (center) with his son Karam and daughter Miriam

She remembered her Syrian-born father as someone who was active, didn’t drink or smoke and was 'always smiling.'

The incident has left her mother exhausted while she and her brother have been struggling through their own grief, trying to get answers from authorities who all seem to deny responsibility.

So far, the family has spent $18,248, including $10,950 for funeral services that have been put on hold.

Global Affairs Canada said in an email that consular officials are working with Cuban authorities and the family to resolve the issue.

Miriam Jarjour doesn’t feel she is getting the answers she needs and is hoping Joly will personally intervene to pressure Cuban authorities.

'What I want is someone to help me find my father,' she said.