Claims have surfaced that many of the victims were in mortuaries where they were only being kept cool with fans and no refrigeration. The Nigerian government has rebuffed these claims.
The South African government stated today that families of South Africans who died in T.B. Joshua's Synagogue Church of All Nations collapse in Lagos September 12 are still waiting on the repatriation of the now-decomposed bodies.
"We are entirely at the mercy of the Nigerians," said government spokeswoman Phumla Williams,"We wish we had [a timeline]."
The South African government, she says, has had to have a series of blunt discussions with grieving families, telling them: "We are appealing to you that you expect the worst. I don’t think you want to see your relative in the state that they are in. The majority of them — I don’t think that they are looking good."
Claims have surfaced that many of the victims were in mortuaries where they were only being kept cool with fans and no refrigeration. The Nigerian government has rebuffed these claims.
Post-mortem procedures had been reported completed on all 116 victims of the collapse on Friday. 84 South Africans died.
Williams claimed the sluggish response by the Nigerian government is frustrating, especially as they dismissed assistance from the South African government.
"We don’t know when they are going to finish," she said, furthering, "Because of the state in which the bodies are in, the DNA testing is not going to be a quick process."