(Xinhua/NAN)
South African government spokesperson Phumia Williams says the authorities in her country are committed to repatriating the bodies of South Africans that died in a collapse building in Nigeria.
Williams spoke in Johannesburg on Saturday, observing that the government acknowledged that “families of the victims needed to begin the healing process.
“This can only happen once their loved ones are brought back home for proper burial.’’
A guesthouse belonging to a church collapsed in Lagos on Sept. 12, 2014, killing 116 people including 85 South Africans.
However, 74 bodies of the South Africans had been repatriated while the remaining 11 bodies are still being verified via DNA test.
She said that the social workers and the South African forensic unit had visited the families of the remaining bodies.
According to her, fresh samples collected from the family representatives have been submitted to the laboratory for processing.
“The South African government has been collaborating with the Nigerian authorities to finalise identifying the bodies.
“We will communicate with the families as soon as the Nigerian laboratory finalises the process,’’ she said.
