The father of one of two young Irishmen who died suddenly in India at the weekend has said he is extremely concerned that his son's body will not be flown home.
Mr Padraig McGowan, whose 23-year-old son, Eoin, died along with his friend, Mr Aodan Geraghty (22), said he wants a detailed post-mortem examination to be conducted in this State to discover the exact cause of death.
He is anxious that the Indian authorities do not cremate the men's bodies.
"We are extremely concerned that they might find a reason not to send the boys home," Mr McGowan said from his Sligo home.
He is worried that the Indian authorities might cite reasons of public health for cremating the bodies, now being transported to New Delhi.
Mr McGowan has arranged for a professor of biochemistry at Trinity College to conduct toxicological tests on his son's body. Concerns were raised by media reports yesterday that the two men may have died from poisoning as a result of an insurance fraud involving corrupt restaurant-owners and doctors.
It was said that backpackers were targeted in certain areas.
Mr McGowan said his other son, Colm, who had been travelling with his brother until last week and is now back in Sligo, was aware of the dangers of eating in restaurants.
The group had generally bought food from women cooking for their own families, he said.
The two men died on Sunday evening shortly after eating in a restaurant in the city of Varanasi.
Post-mortem examinations were carried out on the two men's bodies yesterday morning, but nothing suspicious was found.
Mr McGowan said he did not believe the real cause of death would be discovered until more thorough tests were carried out in this country.
He said it was very important for the families to know how their sons died.
While he believed their sudden deaths were linked to the food they had eaten, he said, the only other possibility was that they had got a viral infection from insect bites.
The men had been hiking in Nepal.