Funeral for asylum seekers who plunged from Glasgow tower block

Red Road: Funeral for family who jumped from flat

The funeral of three asylum seekers who plunged to their deaths from a tower block in Glasgow has been held.

Serguei Serykh, 43, his wife Tatiana and his stepson threw themselves from the Red Road flats in on March 7.

It is believed the three Russian nationals moved to Canada, where they were granted refugee status in 2005.

But they then applied for asylum in the UK after allegations against the Canadian authorities were made by one of the three.

The family were said to have received a letter explaining that their accommodation in Glasgow was to be withdrawn on the day that they died.

The private funeral service was held on Tuesday at the Daldowie Crematorium in Uddingston, near Glasgow.

Officers from Strathclyde Police also attended the service, a spokeswoman for the force said.

Robina Qureshi, director of Glasgow-based charity Positive Action in Housing, was also at the short service.

She said: "There were around 11 people there but no relatives.
The minister just said a few words and spoke about the tragedy of the family's deaths. Their ashes will be returned to Moscow later this week.

"It's been over four months since the Serykh family died. At least now their family in Moscow can get the ashes of their loved ones and grieve properly.

"The Serykhs killed themselves on the day they were going to be destitute. They had nowhere else to go. To them it must have seemed like they had run out of options."

Ms Qureshi also repeated her call for a public inquiry into the deaths.
She said: "We believe the UK asylum policy had a part to play in the deaths of the Serykhs and a fatal accident inquiry can ascertain exactly what led to the deaths of a family of three."

The UK Border Agency said in March it had advised the family that arrangements were being made to return them to Canada, where they had been granted protection.

But a spokesman said no "imminent action" to remove them from the UK had been planned.

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