Durban - The family of a Durban-born man, among the 298 victims of the Malaysia Airlines disaster last month, said on Monday night that they were one step closer to bringing his remains home.
Cameron Dalziel, 43, was on Flight MH17 that was apparently shot down over Ukraine on July 17.
His brother, Campbell Dalziel, said the family had received official confirmation that Cameron had been positively identified using DNA swabs from his family and dental records.
“It’s a confirmation of something we knew all along but it’s a big relief to the family,” he told the Daily News.
“It was a quest but we were being patient.”
Cameron was formerly from uMhlanga and his family are making arrangements for his remains to be brought to Durban.
“I want to honour and give him a rightful send-off,” Dalziel said.
“The next step is to get the green light from authorities in Netherlands so we can fetch his ashes.
“We are fortunate that he has been identified. We hope the other families have the same luck.”
He said he had kept abreast watching television news reports. He said he had watched how 80 coffins had arrived in the Netherlands from Ukraine.
“When the caskets were on hearses and travelling in a convoy, they were given a fallen soldier honour. People lined the streets and threw flowers. It was emotional,” he said. “I intend having something similar here.”
Cameron had been living with his wife and two children in Malaysia where he was employed as a helicopter pilot. It is believed that he was returning from a training course in the Netherlands when the plane was shot down.
Daily News