Families of workers killed when a five-storey building in George in the Western Cape collapsed are frustrated that they are not being given adequate information about how they can claim the bodies of their loved ones.
“We do not know what is -happening here in terms of dealing with administration process when it comes to claiming the bodies of our loved ones.
“When we bring images of our deceased brothers and sisters, we are told that the pictures are not the same as those who perished in that building,” said Edmor Mayanga.
Zimbabwean pastor Tapson Blaundy said Avbob offered -services, including providing coffins and mummifying -bodies and for dealing with the repatriation papers for the deceased for R18 000.
“When I spoke to Avbob, I was told that it is assisting on this operation by providing R18 000 services to the families.
“However, the families also had to pay R7 000 to Avbob for the transportation of each body from George to Johannesburg.
“The issue is that many families do not have money to take their loved ones to their native countries.
“This is where the embassies of all the countries affected should come in, but they are saying nothing,” said Blaundy.
Mike Mkandawire was worried how they would transport the bodies of loved ones.
“How do they expect families to travel to Gauteng from George, and when they get to Joburg, where are they going to leave the bodies?
“This doesn’t make sense at all and we want these people to be given dignified funerals by their loved ones.”
Avbob funeral director and spokesperson in George, Gert Niehaus, told Sunday World that the undertaker would be taking care of the coffin and the mummification of the mortal remains, including the repatriation papers to get the deceased to their own countries.
On Thursday, on his site visit President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government would assist families to repatriate the deceased to their native
country.
