At least 36 people a year die in Holland without anyone noticing

At least 36 people die unnoticed at home in the Netherlands every year, the AD reports on Tuesday.

The paper bases its claim on information from 22 of the 24 Dutch health regions. In Rotterdam, for example, forensic doctors deal with some five bodies a year that have lain undiscovered for at least two months.

The most likely people to die unnoticed are men over the age of 60 who live in isolation, often with addiction problems.

‘These people often know no one will find them when they die and this disturbs them greatly,’ researcher Anja Machielse told the paper.

Last November the body of a woman who died 10 years previously was found in a flat in Rotterdam.