After a plane crash in Amsterdam in 1992, 43 persons were killed and 400 households were evacuated. Most victims involved in the crash of the cargo plane were immigrants. This article describes the role of christianity, the islam and the afroamerican religions regarding mourning processes among the victims from Surinam, the Antilles, Ghana, Turkey, Morocco and the Netherlands. Similarities and differences in the disposal of the body are described as well as a number of rites of passage. In addition to overlapping symptoms in grief and posttraumatic stress reaction, the authors mention how mourning and PTSD can be distinguished. Symptoms presented by individuals or by the group can easily be misdiagnosed as psychopathology. The article describes a number of beliefs as well as tie-breaking customs which facilitate the working through of grief.