Man seeking asylum dies at Pretoria Tutu Refugee Centre

POLICE arrive at the Desmond Tutu Refugee Reception Centre in Marabastad after a man collapsed and died yesterday. Jacques Naude African News Agency (ANA)

POLICE arrive at the Desmond Tutu Refugee Reception Centre in Marabastad after a man collapsed and died yesterday. Jacques Naude African News Agency (ANA)

Published Feb 19, 2019

Share

Pretoria - The Desmond Tutu Refugee Centre in Marabastad was closed for the rest of the day yesterday after a man collapsed and died while waiting in the queue.

The Pakistani national, believed to have died of a heart attack, was among the hundreds of people seeking asylum.

“We were waiting for an official to give us an indication of where to go; the guy was also standing like the rest of us. The next thing he just fainted.

“We don't know what happened, but we suspect it was a heart attack because he just fell on the ground and that was it,” Husain Kabir said.

The man did not die immediately; according to Kabir, but the ambulance took too long to arrive.

He said the man would probably have stood a chance at life had the ambulance arrived sooner. “When the ambulance finally arrived, they did not even resuscitate him to see if he was indeed dead.”

After the incident, everyone walked away without their documentation after security told them they would not be helped.

SAPS spokesperson Captain Augustinah Selepe said an inquest docket had been opened by the Pretoria Central Police Station.

She said they did not know the age of the dead man, but he was a Pakistan national.

“Although we have opened an inquest docket, those close to the man have said he had been coughing for about two weeks.

“A post-mortem will be conducted to establish the cause of death.”

The Department of Home Affairs said yesterday it was investigating the reports of the death.

Pretoria News

Related Topics: