The body of a Bulgarian national, 34, from the village of Chelopek, near the northwestern city of Vratsa has been kept for a full year in a morgue freezer in Milan, Italy.

The information was reported by the Vratsa-based site of the regional daily "Konkurent," and was confirmed by the Chelopek Mayor, who says policemen brought a document about the case from the Italian Consular Office last week.

According to the document, Ivan Lyubenov, 34, who was working in Italy died in a Milan hospital in March, 2010, after complications from a cold.

Authorities believe the man did not have ID papers on him and this is why his relatives have not been notified.

Residents of the village say Lyubenov's mother filed a missing person report last year, but had not received any information until now.

The relatives now face staggering costs in the amount of thousands of EUR to pay the morgue fees and to transport the body to Bulgaria.

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