The collapsed synagogue church building which resulted in the death of over 100 persons, majority being South African nationals
No fewer than 60 bodies of South African victims of the September 12 Synagogue building collapse have been released for repatriation to South Africa by Lagos State government amid tight military security.
Two South African airlines conveyed the troops and health officials, as well as their logistics, which included four disaster refrigerated vans (converted to mobile morgues), four Pick-up vans, medical consumables and materials, such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), body bags, tents, generators and fuel, air conditioners, jerry cans of water among others.
They reportedly touched down about midnight and were received by government officials led by Chief Medical Examiner and Forensic Pathologist, Professor John Obafunwa.
Our correspondent gathered that immediately the team was cleared by the Immigration, they were led to the two centres where the corpses were embalmed and preserved at Isolo General Hospital and Mainland Hospital, Yaba, respectively.
The teams, which had been divided into two sets, set up temporary tents at both hospitals, where all military and medical personnel took shelter while the exercise lasted.
Forty of the corpses that were preserved at the Mainland Hospital, were thereafter separately bagged, tagged and each laid in ready stretchers that were neatly arranged in two mobile morgues, which were brought along from South Africa for the exercise.
At the Isolo General Hospital, the leading pathologist at the hospital, Dr Sunday Soyemi, told our correspondent, "We've done most of the work, including the autopsy, identification of the bodies before today.
"What they have come here to do is to help bag the bodies, and then put them in the refrigerator van they brought with them and then transport them to the airport", said Soyemi.
He noted that though the team came with their own body bags and personal safety equipment, including waste bins, he assured that the exercise ought to be completed by evening, when the corpses would then be moved to South Africa.
The personnel were noticeably well kitted from head to toe in protective gears to guard against the possibility of contacting any viral infection from the corpses.
Speaking with our correspondent at the Mainland Hospital, Professor Obafunwa explained that the procedure for identifying the victims of the building collapse was made easier with the cooperation of the South African government, which assisted in collecting samples of relations in South Africa to carry out forensic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
According to him, "The South African government helped us to collect reference samples over there and send them to the laboratory over there, we also sent the ones we collected both from the victims and the five families members who were presented here to them for cross matching.
"Out of that, we've had a total of 80 identified as at Friday and we are still expecting more results and if we do, we would probably release more people", said Obafunwa.
Continuing he said, "Out of the eighty, 60 are South Africans, 40 preserved at the Mainland and 26 at the Isolo General Hospital".
http://www.ereporter.com.ng/index.p...frican-bodies-repatriated-amid-tight-security
