Police in Limpopo said on Tuesday they planned to conduct DNA testing on the remains of the eight people who were badly burnt in a horror accident on Easter Monday in a bid to identify the remains.
Eight people died and several more were injured when a minibus taxi and Ford Fiesta collided along the D4100 road near Groblersdal on Monday.
“The bodies are at the Government Mortuary at Groblersdal and arrangements for DNA testing are currently underway. It is envisioned that it will be done on Thursday,” said provincial police spokesman Ronel Otto.
Authorities said the planned DNA examination would be conducted in consultation with the relatives of the victims.
The effort to identify the victims whose names are still being withheld was in an effort to authenticate the remains of passengers and two drivers.
The driver of the private car and a passenger were among the eight dead, with the other six all travelling aboard the taxi. Eight other people were hospitalised after suffering burns during the accident.
Transport department spokesperson Kaiso Mootane said it was hoped that the forensic investigations would be completed soon and help identify the victims who were en route to Gauteng from the Apel Taxi Rank, south of Polokwane.
The victims were burnt beyond recognition after they were trapped in the burning vehicles while efforts to rescue them were thwarted due to the lack of a fire extinguisher.
Witnesses said the fire quickly engulfed both vehicles and by the time Fire and Rescue Services arrived at the scene, it was already too late.
The accident pushed Limpopo’s death toll over the Easter weekend to 25, less than the 35 who died on the province’s roads during the same period last year.
0 comments:
Post a Comment