Only one body from Bronkhorstspruit crash can be identified

The injuries sustained by the 20 victims who died in a horrific minibus crash near Bronkhorstspruit on Friday were so severe‚ only one person has been identified so far.

Gauteng MEC for Education Panyaza Lesufi told a meeting of government officials‚ law enforcement agencies as well as the families of the dead and injured that DNA testing would be the only way they could be sure which remains belong to which family.

The meeting took place in Verena‚ five kilometres from where the accident took place on the R25.

• ‘The devil planned this’ school principal says of deadly school minibus crashThe principal of a primary school near Bronkhorstspruit says she has no idea how she is going to tell the learners of her school about their 14 classmates who died in a horrific minibus crash on Friday afternoon. 

The minibus taxi in which the 18 children and two adults were travelling collided head on with a truck. The taxi then burst into flames‚ preventing rescuers from getting more children out.

Sergeant David Mbonani told the Sunday Times on Saturday how he had stood and watched helplessly as it burned as the children trapped inside screamed for nearly five minutes.

"I am told the DNA tests could take up to a week‚" Lesufi said.

"But without this it would be very difficult to arrange funerals."

• Cries of dying kids haunt cop at Bronkhorstspruit crashThe screams of dying children trapped in a flaming minibus taxi will haunt Sergeant David Mbonani forever. 

Lesufi affirmed that government would bear the burden of support for the families‚ including providing counselling services at both Refano Primary and Mahlenga Secondary schools which the children attended.

He said committees had been established to assist the families in all ways including funeral arrangements and the administrative processes with law enforcement.

"Out of the 15 families affected‚ 13 have been provided with the services of counselling as well as a chaplain‚" he said.

"The injured learners will also be supported in terms of future and current medical costs‚ counselling and schooling. This will be taken care of immediately‚ to help them go back to school and move on from this."

• Families of taxi crash victims warned their bodies ‘burnt beyond recognition’The Mpumalanga Department of Health has appealed to family members of the 18 pupils who died in a minibus taxi crash near Bronkhorstspruit to be patient with regard to viewing their remains‚ as pathologists will only examine the bodies on Monday. 

He thanked government officials from both Mpumalanga and Gauteng for their work so far to assist the families.

"We share your grief. But we assure you you will not walk this difficult road alone‚" Lesufi said.

-TMG Digital/TimesLIVE