Family still wait for return of migrant worker’s body after unexplained death on UK-US military base

Relatives allege American contractor on island of Diego Garcia failed to get proper medical help for 33-year-old Saddam Ali

A major US defence contractor has failed to repatriate the body of a migrant worker who died under unexplained circumstances on the British-owned island of Diego Garcia more than a month ago, the Observer has learned.

Saddam Ali died after a short illness on 18 October, on the secretive joint UK-US military base on the remote British overseas territory in the Indian Ocean. His family allege that KBR – Ali’s employer – failed to get the 33-year-old Indian sufficient medical assistance, keeping him on the base, which does not have a hospital-grade facility.