Lagos State Government has called on family members of victims of the collapsed six storey guest house of Synagogue of All Nations (SCOAN), Ikotun to submit samples that can aid forensic identification and DNA analysis of recovered bodies.
State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, made the call on Friday, said the government has commenced the identification of recovered bodies from the collapsed building site
He explained that the government considered it necessary to start forensic identification and DNA analysis of the recovered bodies in view of the need to identify each of them.
Idris appealed to family members especially parents, children and siblings of Nationals who believe their relations could have been in the collapsed building to visit the Department of Forensic Medicine at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja from Friday 26th September, 2014 to submit samples that can aid the forensic identification and DNA analysis of recovered bodies.
The Commissioner noted however that those eligible to give samples for the forensic identification and DNA analysis in order of preference include; parents, children and siblings of the deceased.
Tag: Synagogue
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Synagogue: Lagos calls for DNA samples from victims’ family
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Lagos names coroner on Synagogue’s collapsed building
The Lagos state government has appointed a coroner to make inquest into the circumstances that led to the collapse of a six storey hostel building at Synagouge Church of all Nations, Ikotun, Lagos.
The Coroner is Magistrate O. A. Komolafe, who also sat as Coroner in the Dana Air Crash case.
The state government instituted the Coroner’s Inquest under the Lagos State Coroner’s System Law No. 7 of 2007.
It was instituted for the purpose of establishing the cause and manner of the recent incident of a collapsed building within the premises of the Synagogue Church of All Nations at Ikotun Egbe, Lagos and the several deaths that followed.
A total of 115 persons, majorly South Africans, allegedly died in the September 12, 2014 collapsed building.
A statement issued on Friday by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye said the inquest will hold at the premises of the High Court of Lagos State, Oba Akinjobi Way, Ikeja.
The statement said the inquest was instigated by Ipaye, under section 15 of the Coroner Law which provides that a Coroner shall hold an inquest whenever he is informed that the death of a deceased person lying within his Coroner District was as a result of a violent, unnatural or suspicious occurrence.
Ipaye emphasized that the Coroner has extensive powers to investigate the cause and circumstances of death and bring his findings and recommendations to the attention of appropriate authorities.
“In doing this, he has all the powers of a magistrate to summon and compel the attendance of witnesses, including medical examiners, and require them to give evidence, produce documents or present other relevant materials’, he added.
“The Law requires the verdict of a Coroner as certified in writing to be forwarded to the State Attorney General and such verdict may form the basis of criminal prosecutions depending on the evidence collected,” he stated.
The statement added that the coroner is expected to announce his sitting and visitation schedules and other details soon. -
My 13 scary hours inside Synagogue rubble, by woman
The was trapped for 13 hours under the rubble of the collapsed seven-storey guesthouse of the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Ikotun, a Lagos suburb. The Durban, South African woman spoke for the first time to Daily News of how her will to survive – and “warfare prayer” – got her through the nightmare.
“We came face-to-face with death but I had no fear,” said Thandi Zwane, the African National Congress (ANC) Woman’s League chairwoman for South Beach, eThekwini’s Ward 26.
She told the Daily News on Wednesday that she was a few centimetres away from death as a collapsed wall hung over her face.
Zwane blamed the September 12 disaster on the “work of evil”.
She defended church founder Prophet T.B. Joshua, whom she described as “the prophet”, warning that those who vilified him “will face God’s wrath”.
“Let God forgive those who speak ill of the prophet. Bible says do not judge.
“He is not God but only an appointee just like previous prophets in the Bible. So those who judge him will face God’s wrath,” she told the Daily News from her home in Durban, where she is recovering.
“We are in a period where the Christian faith is being tested. The only way to deal with it is to speak the word of God.”
Zwane, who described herself as a born-again Christian and an ordained evangelist at Faith Life Ministries International, which is based near Springfield Park, said she would return to the Nigerian church after missing out on a face-to-face meeting with Joshua on her “spiritual journey”.
Describing how the tragedy, which killed more than 115 people, unfolded, Zwane said the churchgoers were having a midday meal and she was just about to finish hers when she saw a wall moving towards them in a huge dining hall on the first floor.
Suddenly, the hall was filled with smoke and darkness. Others were screaming hysterically. She found herself trapped under a white chair on which rested a table.
“Miraculously, the wall hung a few centimetres from my face. I talked to God to hold it still. I could not even see my fingers.
“I shouted to others to stop crying but to pray for their survival.
“While I was praying I called for the stars, thunder and Holy Ghost fire in Jesus’s name,” she said.
“It was a warfare prayer. I made such a noise that everyone started praying hard.”
With all the pain she suffered from her bruised forehead and left limbs, Zwane tried to stretch her right leg, which felt very numb at that stage. She rested her head on another survivor lying next to her.
She said his name was Patrick and they started plotting their survival strategy while calling out Jesus’s name.
Just before midnight, while moving her hand, she felt a Bible.
She asked anyone with a cellphone to switch it on and she read a book of Psalms, which talks about protection.
Zwane said there were 7 487 promises in the Bible and one of them had promised protection against evil.
She said the book of Psalms stated that mankind could live 70-80 million years and thereafter it was only through the grace of God.
Zwane, who works for the KZN Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in Durban, said she felt disheartened after learning of those who had died during the collapse.
“I became emotional when I heard about the loss of lives. But, I do not blame anyone except the work of evil.
“The prophet could not have done anything to prevent the incident. It was God’s secret.
“People should just read and understand the Bible. Stop being ignorant because it is all in the scripture book,” she said.
Zwane said another survivor had told her that she had arranged her funeral while lying helplessly under the rubble, but after Zwane’s powerful prayer she was saved.
“At 2am, I noticed a light shining through the wall. I think it was one of the holes drilled by paramedics. I dragged myself out of it and pointed in the direction of others who had been trapped,” said the mother of two.
Zwane said the collapse happened before they could go for their second Bible class in the church, which was open 24 hours for prayers.
While being treated in Broad Hospital in Lagos she received many calls – messages of support from relatives and colleagues.
After two days she asked to be discharged and left to make arrangements to return to South Africa.
When she landed at OR Tambo International Airport on September 17 her cellphone inbox was full of messages of support from comrades, church members, relatives and friends.
Her two children whisked her away to their home where she received further medical treatment for two days before arriving in Durban.
Zwane complained of pain in her left limbs.
She said she lost her luggage and a Bible in the disaster but what mattered the most was that she was still alive.
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Synagogue: 62 South African victims’ bodies identified
A five-step process of identification is underway on the bodies of the South Africans killed in the Synagogue church building collapse, Minister in South Africa’s Presidency Jeff Radebe said yesterday.
Giving an update in Pretoria on the situation, he said this was a “methodical and time consuming process, and one would not be able to predict the exact timeframes for completion”.
Radebe said 62 of the 84 South Africans killed in the disaster had been identified “with certainty”.
“On the issue of the bodies, right now, the team that is there in Lagos has been able to identify with certainty 62 South Africans.
“So the remainder, as you know there are 115 deceased in this tragedy, and 84 of the 115 are South Africans, so we still have a long time to go.,” he said, adding that he meant not long in terms of time, but in effort.
Government was committed to ensuring that all those killed were accurately identified, and their bodies brought home.
“We want to assure the South African nation that we shall spare neither strength nor effort in ensuring that the deceased are repatriated back home.
“We believe that the repatriation of the deceased is the crucial first step in helping the families find closure in the aftermath of this terrible tragedy.”
Radebe, who heads an interministerial team tasked by President Jacob Zuma to manage the situation, said identification of bodies following a disaster was a specialised scientific process, involving painstakingly thorough procedures.
“A South African team of experts on the ground in Nigeria is working closely with [their Nigerian counterparts] to ensure that this process is completed as soon as possible.”
The process involved either identification of bodies by next of kin, through photo identification, from fingerprints, from dental records, or — if all these were not possible — through DNA.
He said DNA sampling took time.
“Our government appeals to the families and the nation to bear with us as we allow our team in Lagos the necessary time to complete this process.”
All efforts were being made to keep the identification process as short as possible.
Once the bodies were all identified, a team of 70 South African military health service experts “is ready to depart for Lagos with specialised equipment to transport the deceased back to South Africa with the required care and the required respect”, Radebe said.
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Synagogue disaster
•There should be no cover up; Nigeria has been embarrassed by it
Although it seemed self-serving and opportunistic, President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit to The Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN), in Ikotun, Lagos, ostensibly to offer his condolences following a tragic September 12 building collapse, further highlighted the multiple dimensions of the disastrous incident. It is uncertain whether Jonathan, who flew into Lagos for the Southwest unity rally of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), would have made such a move outside his political schedule.
However, his appearance underlined the magnitude of the tragedy which, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), consumed 90 lives, including 84 South Africans. The crisis agency said there were 131 survivors. Shockingly, but perhaps unsurprisingly given the circumstances of the calamity, the death toll remains inconclusive and the South African government said 115 people may have died.
The collapsed guest house on the church grounds was reportedly occupied largely by visiting South Africans who numbered 349 at the time of the disaster. Significantly, South African President Jacob Zuma captured the distressing scale of his country’s loss in a statement: “Not in the recent history of our country have we had this large number of our people die in one incident outside the country.”
It is laudable that the collapse is being investigated by the Federal Government, prompting the Lagos State government to suspend its own probe. Especially creditable however is the role played by the state governor, Babatunde Fashola, whose presence at the scene helped to establish a proper emergency response by excluding obstructive members of the church. It is regrettable that official emergency responders were initially handicapped by church members who unreasonably viewed the happening as an internal affair.
In this connection, Nigeria must learn from South Africa’s demonstration of overseas crisis readiness. A South African team of experts in forensic science and disaster management promptly arrived in the country to focus on specific areas: “body recovery and repatriation, victims listing and confirmation, post-mortems as well as assessing of injured persons to determine the medical condition and the required levels of care”. In furtherance of this timely intervention, 25 injured South Africans were flown back to their country to continue treatment.
Curiously, the church leader, Prophet Temitope Joshua, came up with stories that sounded far-fetched in his effort to clarify what happened. He released security camera footage which showed a “strange aircraft” flying over the church a number of times before the building collapsed. He also presented an email suggesting an earlier failed plot to bomb the church by the Islamist guerilla force Boko Haram, which is promoting terroristic activities in the country, mainly in the northern region.
This apparent appeal to pity and the discernible objective of painting a picture of victimhood, apart from being unsupported by persuasive proof, critically failed to address the more fundamental and evidential issues surrounding the crumbling of the building. The church will not only need to show that it obtained official approval for the modification of the collapsed guest house; it will also have to provide evidence of compliance with best practices. Reports said the affected building was originally a three-storey structure which was being raised to accommodate three additional floors.
Without being judgmental ahead of the final results of the ongoing investigations, it is noteworthy that the General Manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Mrs. Abimbola Animashaun, was quoted as saying, “We have investigated and found that they had no approval for the additional structures. Even the main church, which they have added about three floors on, was sealed two days ago, but it is now open.” In this context, it is unclear why the agency allowed the opening of the main church.
Besides the importance of individual responsibility and accountability in the erection of buildings, the overriding value of institutional regulatory roles should not be trivialised, which is the central lesson to be learnt from this possibly avoidable tragedy. The investigations should not be one-sided; and individual negligence as well as institutional dereliction of duty must be effectively punished.
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Victims’ relatives, journalists bitter over Synagogue
South African reporters seeking to visit Nigeria over the Synagogue tragedy and families of the victims are not happy with Nigeria. While the reporters say their visas’ applications are being frustrated, the victims’ families are sad because of the way the rescue efforts went, writes Asst. Editor JOKE KUJENYA
Their concerns are different. For the seven reporters working for newspapers in South Africa, their headache is getting visas to come to Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, for on-the-spotreporting of what is now known as the “Synagogue tragedy”. South African government says 84 of its citizens died in the tragedy when a guest house being remodeled by the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) collapsed.
For the relatives of the survivors and the dead, their headache is either getting the bodies of their loved ones released to them or having their surviving relatives recover from the injuries sustained in the tragedy.
One of such relatives, Martha Marope, sat quietly, rocking herself, softly singing her son’s favourite hymn in Pretoria, the South African capital on Monday.
“I know he will be fine. I know he is here somewhere. They said everyone who was there is now here, everyone except the bodies.
“His name is not on the list, but I know he is here. He must be. I came because I was told everyone must come.”
Marope’s only wish was to see her 22-year-old son’s name on the government’s evacuation list of 25 South Africans injured in the collapse.
“I love Kagiso’s smile. In every photo I have of him he smiles. Do you want to see?” asks Martha taking a photo from her handbag.
He was one of 349 South Africans on a pilgrimage to Prophet T.B. Joshua’s church. Joshua has blamed Boko Haram for the disaster – a claim which is being investigated.
Other distraught families – who had been told that their relatives would be quarantined for 48 hours to prevent the spread of disease – gathered at Pretoria’s Steve Biko Academic Hospital.
The 10-hour evacuation by the air force is the largest to have been undertaken by South Africa. City Press reported yesterday that “the next military flight from Nigeria to South Africa will not be ferrying the injured home; it will be repatriating the dead”.
Marope said: “If he is not here today, maybe tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the next day. Another injured South African decided to stay and go back to the church. Maybe it’s Kagiso. That church is our home. I will go there and search for him. I will tell him it’s alright.”
Another relative of the victim, Grace Sono, whose sister, Harriet, was among the 16 seriously injured survivors, told a South African newspaper that a church co-ordinator told her that what had happened was “God’s way”. She had questions for Joshua: “Who is this prophet? He claims he can see things, bring back the dead. But he couldn’t stop this. Why doesn’t he bring this lady’s son Kagiso) back. We don’t accept his rubbish. Look, they are taking away the families of the dead and dying, those who have lost legs. You are telling us it’s God’s way. That we must accept. But God doesn’t do this to people who love him. We want answers, for her and the others whose husbands have died,” said Sono, pointing to a woman who had collapsed in tears as social workers told her the bad news.
Minister in The Presidency Jeff Radebe told The Times of South Africa: “People have lost legs. A man with damaged kidneys must undergo dialysis. Another has gangrene and will lose his toes. Others have broken bones, fractured legs and bad face wounds. Children have been orphaned. If there is fault, someone must take the rap. We keenly await the investigation’s outcome.”
Radebe said the identification of the dead was under way.
“We have forensic scientists and others comparing fingerprints to the population database and making DNA tests.”
While the South African government and families of those affected are bothered about the dead and the injured, reporters are bordered about getting visas to come and report the disaster. The seven journalists, who work with City Press, Media 24 and Sunday Times, said their visa applications were blocked by the Nigeria High Commission in Pretoria.
One of them asked this reporter to help find ways to expedite their visas.
He said: “Please, is there any diplomatic contact within the state security you could call on to help expedite our visa applications? We had considered taking other options as getting into Nigeria through other neighbouring countries but other strong contacts advised against it. Altogether there were seven of us, who I know of, who applied for visas. When we applied, we were told by the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria that we needed clearance from the Ministry of Information in Abuja, Nigeria.
“Promptly, we forwarded our applications and names to a Mrs Kaluji (sic) at the Information Ministry. But, she told us that she sent our applications with our names to the State Security Service (SSS) where it has been stuck. Our challenge now is to know where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could co-write with the Information Ministry so that we can have the visas and come to Nigeria. As you can imagine, we need to be there given the time the visit takes so we don’t on the urgency and relevance of the development on ground. I do not feel comfortable revealing the names of my colleagues from the other media houses as they should speak for themselves. Please let me know what can be done with the ministry and what time frames we are looking at.”
Attempts to get the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Viola Onwuliri and her Information counterpart, Labaran Maku, to comment on the issue were not successful. Calls were unanswered and short messages were not replied.
The journalist with the Times Media Group said they ought not to be so treated because the disaster affects them more than other nationals.
He added: “Have you any idea how long it will take the ministry to get our visas approved? It is so sad Nigeria has been so political about this from the onset. And it seems the Nigerian government is trying to stage-manage every aspect of it. Even the SA government initially had trouble accessing the site and survivors. I have seen the visit by Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan. What is important is do you know anyone in the Nigerian government who could assist us to speed up the visa –maybe in the Presidency, State or Security?”
The Nation sent an email via nhcp@iafrica.com and nhcp@telkomsa.net to the High Commissioner, Mr S. S. Yusuf of the High Commission of Nigeria in Pretoria, South Africa, asking to know the actual reasons for denying the journalists. But no reply has been received till the time of this report. However, none of the emails bounced back undelivered.
This reporter also contacted a very top immigration officer to ask what could be done subsequent to the takes steps. The officer said: “Let him go to the Nigeria embassy in Pretoria now and apply to the ambassador.”
The Times Media Group reporter said: “We have done all that. At this point, we are so confused. We don’t even know what is going on. I just wish someone in Nigeria can help us as quickly as possible.”
Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) President Mr. Mohammed Garba promised to meet with the Maku and ensure that the reporters get their visas to visit Nigeria to do their jobs.
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Synagogue Church, others should insure buildings, says NAICOM
Following the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) building collapse tragedy, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has advised churches and mosques leaders in the country to consider insurance of their buildings to mitigate risks in the interest of innocent third parties.
Commissioner for Insurance, Fola Daniel made this call, while expressing sympathising with families of victims of the collapsed building in Lagos.
Daniel said insurance of public buildings except places of worship, is compulsory in Nigeria as defined in section 65 of the insurance Act 2003.
He urged Nigerians to insure their risks against unforeseen disasters such as the Synagogue building collapse.
He said: “Church and mosque leaders in the country should consider insurance of their buildings to mitigate risks in the interest of innocent third parties.
“I sympathise with families of victims of the collapsed synagogue church building in Lagos and urge Nigerians to insure their risks against unforeseen disasters.”
About two weeks ago, a part of a multiple storey building inside the premises of the SCOAN, collapsed leaving a total of 80 worshipers dead, while 131 were critically injured.
The National Emergency Management Agency and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, which said the rescue operation at the site has been concluded, announced that they had reached “ground zero” as at Thursday, last week.
Some of those rescued alive, according to them, have been discharged, while others are still receiving treatments for various degrees of injuries at some hospitals in Lagos.
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Synagogue: Lagos to wait for report on collapsed building
Lagos State Government has said that it would wait for a comprehensive report on the collapsed synagogue building that killed 86 people before taking necessary actions.
The government, who on Tuesday put on hold a scheduled press conference on the situation, said agencies of government are working together in order to get a comprehensive report on the incident.
The state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba, appealed to the media for understanding, saying that both the state and the committee set up Federal Government are working together so as to ascertain the true situation of things.
He said, “We are all aware that the Federal Government has set up a committee, what we are saying is that in order for us not to preempt that committee and hold anyone responsible, the best thing is for us to put this conference on hold .
“Agencies of government are working together so that at the end of the day we will have a comprehensive report. Until that is out, it will not be right for us to tell you the situation.”
He assured that as soon as the investigation is completed, government would disclose the situation, while appealing to all concern for consideration.
“We are not saying that we will not tell you, but for now that is the situation of things. The state government has representative in the committee set up by the Federal Government and together that committee will come up with a report that will be able to tell us and every Nigerian what happened. But for now it wouldn’t be right to preempt what is going on,” Ibirogba added.
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Synagogue toll rises to 115
•Injured victims flown home
South Africans raised yesterday their death toll in the September 12 guest house collapse at the Synagogue of All Nations (SCOAN) in Ikotun on the outskirts of Lagos to 115, up from 67 that was initially announced.
Twenty-five injured nationals receiving treatment in Lagos hospitals were yesterday flown back home. The C130plane carrying them landed at the Swartkop Air Force base in Pretoria at 10.42 am local time.
Three children, including an 18-month-old and a two-year-old – both of who had lost their parents in the collapsed building – were among the injured flown in.
It is believed that there were no fewer than 349 visiting South Africans in the church at the time of the collapse; 17 were declared unaccounted for. It is not clear if they are among the new list of the dead announced yesterday by South African Government Minister Jeff Radebe.
The minister urged Nigeria to investigate the “tragedy”.
South Africans are angry at what they see as the Nigerian government dragging its feet on launching an investigation into the collapse, which occurred when three storeys were being added to the two-storey building, and for not reacting more quickly to help those trapped under the rubble.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) gave the final death toll at 90; 131 survived.
President Goodluck Jonathan visited the site on Saturday, offering his condolences to Church overseer Pastor T.B. Joshua, who has been the focus of South Africans’ anger after he described the victims as “martyrs of faith” on his Facebook page.
Joshua and his supporters described the collapse as an “attack” somehow linked to a mysterious aircraft they claimed flew over the building before it collapsed.
Radebe spent much of his news conference congratulating the work of South African emergency workers for the “biggest evacuation by the air force since the dawn of democracy”.
He did not mention the efforts of Nigerian emergency services or the church but said Nigeria was carrying out an investigation, although Jonathan has not announced any probe.
“We are keenly awaiting as a South African government the investigation that is being conducted by the Nigerian government so that we get to the bottom of the cause of … this national disaster,” Radebe said.
South Africa’s media has been scathing of Joshua and the Nigerian government, especially after the Nigerian emergency services said the church had failed to cooperate and had blocked rescuers’ access to the site.
“Blood on their hands” was the front page headline of South Africa’s Sunday Times. Many Nigerians have also been critical.
There was heavy police presence at the Swartkop base when the plane carrying the injured arrived.
Military personnel swiftly attended to them.
Shortly after the C130 SA Air Force plane landed at the Swartkop Air Force Base in Pretoria, an initial batch of the patients was whisked off to the hospital.
Most of the patients were brought out of the plane on stretchers and taken to ambulances parked nearby.
A woman in a red dress, supported by two soldiers, limped to one of the ambulances.
Others could also walk to the ambulances, with assistance.
A convoy of Tshwane metro police officers on motorbikes and SA Police Service vehicles escorted the first two ambulances from the military base shortly after 11am.
Members of a government inter-ministerial task force, led by Presidency Minister Jeff Radebe, approached the plane carrying the 26 injured South Africans after it landed.
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Synagogue: South Africa sends plane to fly back injured nationals
South Africa, which lost 84 nationals in the collapsed guest house at the Synagogue church in Lagos, has sent a plane to fly home survivors of the disaster.
According to reports, 349 South Africans were visiting the church at the time of the incident. There are 265 survivors while 17 remain unaccounted for. The 96 injured are now reduced to 29, including a three-year-old.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) put the final death toll at 90 with 131 survivors.
A South African team of experts is already in the country joining the team working on identifying the victims.
Yesterday, leader of the church, Prophet TB Joshua, said he would travel to South Africa to meet families and survivors of the house collapse.
Joshua told the congregation during his weekly morning service that he “will be travelling to South Africa to meet people from South Africa and other nations who find South Africa easier to visit, in memory of martyrs of faith.”
Joshua also observed a minute silence “in memory of martyrs of faith”.
The church leader has blamed the incident on sabotage but the Lagos State and the federal government are investigating the claims.
The building collapsed on September 12.
Giving an update on the situation in Pretoria yesterday, the South African Government said:
“We are aware that this is a difficult period of uncertainty for the nation, particularly for the families, friends and colleagues of those directly affected.
“We can assure you that the South Africa Government is working around the clock, together with the Nigerian Government and the leadership of the Church, through the South African High Commission and Consulate-General in Nigeria to assist survivors and to recover, identify and confirm the deceased. South Africa has dispatched assessment, medical, forensic, social development and disaster management teams in this regard.
“The team deployed in Lagos comprise of internationally acclaimed experts in the field of forensic science and disaster management. A leading member of the team is Brigadier Helena Ras, Head of Technology Management, Criminal Records and Forensic Sciences. Brigadier Ras is an international expert on body identification and she consulted internationally on disaster management.
“The South African assessment team is already in Lagos is assessing the situation on the ground and reporting back to the Inter-Ministerial Committee through the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS). The NATJOINTS is the operational structure of the JCPS Cabinet Cluster constituting of all JCPS member departments such as SAPS, SANDF, Justice and Correctional Services, NPA, Home Affairs, Social Development, Health, COGTA and State Security. The NATJOINTS has activated all its nine Provincial Operation Centres to directly liaise with families.
The assessment team is focussing on the following specific areas: body recovery and repatriation, victims listing and confirmation, post-mortems as well as assessing of injured persons to determine the medical condition and the required levels of care.
Due to the nature and extent of the tragedy, the process of identifying the mortal remains requires meticulous attention to detail; and Government is confident that the team assigned to carry out this task has the necessary capacity and skill. Meanwhile, we call for patience on the publication of victims’ names while the due processes are followed.
Family members have been contacted and arrangements have been put in place for them to participate in the identification process of the deceased. Only after this process has been completed can the names of the deceased be released to the families.