The Limpopo government says 17 families have arrived at Tshilidzini Hospital to identify the bodies of their loved ones who died in Sunday night’s bus accident on the N1 near Louis Trichardt.
The government said the identification process will continue at the hospital on Wednesday for the remaining families.
It said the bus, travelling from the Eastern Cape to Zimbabwe, was carrying 91 passengers when it veered off the Zoutpanesburg mountain on Sunday.
“Of the occupants, 43 lost their lives, 40 received attention at medical facilities and eight self-discharged,” said provincial government spokesperson Ndavhe Ramakuela.
He said 19 patients have been discharged to reconnect with their families in Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Police investigations will focus on culpable homicide while the Road Traffic Management Corporation will finalise a technical report on the cause of the accident.
Ramakuela said the victim identification team has taken photographs of all the deceased and the provincial government is encouraging families searching for their loved ones to visit the hospital for identification.
He said the victim identification team will also start collecting fingerprint sets from all the bodies.
The provincial government anticipates that by Wednesday forensic pathology teams would have concluded post-mortem examinations.
“Working with authorities from Zimbabwe and Malawi, the province hopes it will be able to run fingerprint comparisons on their side since some deceased do not have identification documents. This process will ensure all the remains land in the hands of the correct families. It is only then that they will be able to repatriate them for their families to have closure,” Ramakuela said.
Limpopo premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba said: “This is a difficult time, especially for the families. Our focus is to assist those injured to recover and for positive identification of the deceased.”
Ramathuba said investigations into the cause of the accident will take time, as they analyse why the bus travelled such a long distance with so many passengers.
She said the department of transport is engaging with Zimbabwean authorities on cross-border transport compliance.
TimesLIVE
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