More than 900 unidentified bodies lie in Gauteng mortuaries

The Gauteng department of health has urged those with missing family members to come forward as more than 900 unidentified bodies lie in the province’s mortuaries.

The department’s forensic pathology services (FPS) in Gauteng have 938 unclaimed and unidentified bodies across their 11 mortuaries.

MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko was concerned about the daily pile-up of unclaimed remains.

“There are families who have been looking for their loved ones not knowing where they are. We encourage them to visit FPS mortuaries to check if their loved ones are not part of the unclaimed bodies, and if that is the case, they can give them a proper burial,” she said.

The city with the highest number of unclaimed and unidentified bodies is Pretoria with 263, followed by Johannesburg with 187. The other mortuaries are Germiston with 127, Sebokeng with 94, Ga-Rankuwa with 69, Springs and Diepkloof with 49 bodies each, Carletonville with 45, Roodepoort with 38, Heidelberg with nine and Bronkhorstspruit with eight.

“A family member or relative who wishes to identify their loved one should have their original ID, ID of the deceased or birth certificate if the deceased is a child,” said spokesperson Motaletale Modiba.

If the deceased is a foreign national, a passport, asylum seeker certificate or letter from their home country confirming the identity of the deceased, and who should receive the remains, are required, he said.

Should a body remain unidentified or unclaimed for more than seven days, the fingerprints are sent to the police’s criminal record centre or the department of home affairs for identification. When that process is successful, the next-of-kin is contacted through the police’s investigating officer for the final release and burial or cremation.

“If the body is still unidentified 30 days after exhausting means of identification, including the use of fingerprints, pauper burial processes are used for the final burial of the deceased.”

In addition, the Gauteng FPS publishes the names of the deceased on various media platforms for the bodies to be claimed, Modiba said.

“Communities are advised to always update their home addresses with the department of home affairs whenever they relocate, as this makes it easier to trace relatives in situations like these.”

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