Limpopo’s MEC for Health, Phophi Ramathuba, says 42 of the 45 victims from the bus crash who died on their way to the St Engenas Zion Christian Church from Molepolole in Botswana to the Easter service at Moria in Limpopo have been positively identified through DNA, and some through fingerprints.
Ramathuba said out of 72 samples collected, only three were not identifiable through DNA.
She said the three samples were sent to Pretoria last Friday for further DNA processing.
“We can report that out of the 72, only three samples were returned by the laboratory for us to collect specimens. The remaining bodies have sustained severe mechanical and thermal damage from the heat and also from the injuries,” said Ramathuba
Ramathuba said once the process of death registration is finalised, repatriation of the remains will follow.
“The provincial department will register the deaths with the department of home affairs to obtain death certificates, initiating the repatriation process. Once these processes are completed, we will engage with the Botswana government to finalize the documentation of the deceased, allowing the repatriation to commence,” said Ramathuba
The bus, carrying members of the St Engenas Zion Christian Church from Molepolole in Botswana to the Easter service at Moria in Limpopo, left the road and plunged off the Mmamatlakala Bridge on the R518 on March 28.
Forty-five people died in the crash. There was only one survivor — an eight-year-old girl who was supposedly thrown out of the bus before it plunged down the mountainside.