WeeklySA_AdminSAMPLING: Painstaking analysis to officially identify the majority of the dead…
By WSAM Reporter
Scores of distraught families today await the DNA process to identify the bodies of 62 tenants burnt beyond recognition during the fire that gutted a derelict building in Johannesburg, where 74 people died yesterday.
Only 12 of the 74 bodies recovered from the gutted building were identifiable, while the rest will require DNA sampling from their families to finalise an identification of the unidentified deceased, according to the Gauteng department of health. Officials say it takes 24-72 hours to process the DNA. The fire, which occurred in the building situated on the corner of Albert and Delvers streets, also left more than 60 injured.
According to reports, the dead were made up of 24 women and 40 men; 10 were unidentifiable, and 12 were children, with the youngest being an 18-month-old baby.
Motalatale Modiba, Gauteng province health department spokesperson, told ABC news that 62 of the bodies were so badly burned as to make them unidentifiable and the city’s pathology department faced using painstaking DNA analysis to officially identify the majority of victims.
“Even if the family were to come, there is no way of them being able to identify that body,” Modiba said.
Visiting the scene of the tragedy yesterday, Cyril Ramaphosa said the Johannesburg blaze was “a wake-up call” to address an inner-city housing crisis.
Former Joburg mayor and ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba believed that there was no need for Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, to set up a Committee of Inquiry into the cause of the devastating building fire in Marshalltown, when factors that led to the blaze were clear.
“We view this move as another PR stunt by the ever-grandstanding ANC Gauteng Chairperson, who tends to use state resources for his gimmicks,” Mashaba said in a statement on the party’s website.
This morning, frantic families flocked to the government mortuaries in Hillbrow and Soweto in a frantic bid to identify their loved ones. But some hoping to get the process done quickly were disappointed as they were left waiting in the parking lot for nearly two hours.
Acting Chief Executive Officer for Gauteng Forensic Pathology Services, Thembalethu Mpahlaza, said: “Out of the 74 bodies that we have collected, we only have 12 bodies that are identifiable, that can be viewed by means of visual or eye but 62 of these bodies have burnt beyond recognition. It will take a while to finalise the process of harvesting the DNA samples from those bodies.”
Other developments included:
- Among the dead were at least 10 people whose gender could not be identified because of the extent of their burns.
- Several locked gates inside the building which caught fire had prevented people from escaping, causing the high death toll, according to Johannesburg community safety MMC Mgcini Tshwaku. “Many people’s bodies were found actually stacked on that gate,” she said;
- The building was occupied by South Africans and foreigners who had no proper shelter in the city. This was an abandoned building with an estimated original 200 occupancy rate, but 500 people lived there under inhumane conditions, in shacks erected inside the five-storey building;
- The Johannesburg Emergency Services officials were currently conducting their final inspection of the gutted building before officially handing the scene over to the police;
- The police’s K9 unit and forensic teams had also begun combing through the fire ravaged building to establish the cause of the fire;
- The government has urged families of the deceased to go to the mortuary in Soweto to help identify bodies of the victims.
- Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko was expected to visit patients who were injured and admitted to the Helen Joseph Hospital.
- Several streets surrounding the building had been cordoned off to traffic, and motorists urged to use Von Wielligh street, Durban Street, Anderson Street, Polly Street, Troye Street and Mooi Street as alternative routes, instead;
- Families wanting to go to the government mortuaries to identify their next-of-kin should have their original Identity Document (ID), ID of the deceased or birth certificate if the deceased is a child;
- If the deceased is a foreign national, a passport, asylum seeker certificate or a letter from [the] country of origin confirming who the deceased is and to whom the remains should be handed over to is needed. The Diepkloof Forensic Pathology Service (FPS) is located at 2 Collinder Road Bertsham, Diepkloof, Soweto; and
- Identification of the deceased bodies at the Diepkloof FPS would take place from today. The facility was open on Saturday and Sunday from 9am and 3pm. Counselling services will be offered to the bereaved families.
- The Gauteng FPS would use the Digital Fingerprint System to identify unknown bodies who have visible fingerprints. The system uses biometric scanners and third-party access to the databases of the Department of Home Affairs, South African Police Service and National Credit Bureau to identify deceased bodies.
Action SA says it remains committed to addressing the nationwide issue of hijacked buildings and will present solutions to this crisis at our upcoming policy conference from September 12 to 14.
In addition, family members who are looking to trace loved ones can call the toll-free hotline number on 0800 203 886 or direct line during office hours on 0113553048/0112415707. Additional reporting by SA News, IOL
JOBURG’s RECENT CATALOGUE OF WOES
- In May 2018, Joburg city confirmed 432 buildings as hijacked as of March of that year, the then spokesman for the mayor’s office, Omogolo Taunyane, disclosed in an email to The Associated Press;
- In April 2018, three children were killed when a wall collapsed on them in the building their families shared with about 300 people in Joburg CBD;
- Joburg firefighters remember September 5 2018 as one of the most tragic days in their careers after three of their fellow firemen died while trying to battle a blaze which erupted at the 23-floor of the Bank of Lisbon building, 37 Pixley ka Isaka Seme Street, housing the departments of health, human settlements and co-operative governance and traditional affairs at the time;
- Joburg CBD suffered losses worth millions of rand when shops and other businesses in the city and in KwaZulu-Natal were looted on July 11 2021, over former President Jacob Zuma’s arrest. Dozens of cars were burnt also following a night of violence.
- In March last year, most of the city was left without lights for more than 24 hours when City Power underground cables caught alight underneath Ntemi Piliso and Anderson streets;
- On July 19 this year, an explosion tore up 450 metres of Johannesburg’s Lilian Ngoyi Street (formerly Bree Street), sending taxis and cars flying, killing 34-year-old Joseph Dumisane and injuring 48 others. The explosion was caused by methane gas; and Former Joburg mayor and Action SA leader Herman Mashaba said today, during his mayoral tenure, he discovered 600 buildings that were hijacked, and managed to expropriate 154 buildings for affordable accommodation.
