DURBAN - KWAZULU-Natal Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo is once again rolling up his sleeves and conducting post-mortems.
This time, the under-fire MEC has rolled up his sleeves to assist with post-morterms in a bid to ensure that autopsies of the 20 people who perished in a horror taxi crash at KwaXimba, near Cato Ridge, on Sunday are completed in time for the burials, which are expected to take place this weekend.
“Losing loved ones is a traumatic experience, especially when it is under such sudden and tragic circumstances. When you are bereaved, the last thing you want is the secondary trauma that may arise from any delays with the funeral arrangements,” said Dhlomo on Tuesday.
Also read: Churchgoers killed in horror taxi crash
Twenty six people were crammed into the 16-seat minibus taxi when it crashed off the bridge and plunged 15 metres down an embankment killing 18 of its passengers on the scene. Two more people have since died, taking the death toll to 20.
MEC Dhlomo, who holds a diploma in forensic pathology, is currently conducting port-mortems at Pinetown Mortuary. Six of the bodies were processed and completed on Monday, while nine are expected to be completed on Tuesday. It is anticipated that all the bodies will have been processed and completed by Wednesday, allowing the families to proceed with funeral arrangements.
Nineteen people were killed when the overloaded taxi in which they were travelling overturned in KwaXimba near Cato Ridge. Picture: Doctor Ngcobo/ANA Pictures
“I decided to get involved here in order to ensure this part of the tragedy is well-managed and goes off smoothly so that other arms of government can play their part without any hindrance. We anticipate that there should be no further delays because all the bodies have been identified,” he said.
A mass funeral is expected to take place over the weekend.
Also read: Churchgoers killed in horror taxi crash