Johannesburg- Traffic authorities discovered a truck carrying 106 corpses during a routine stop and search operation along the N2 highway near Somerset West.
The Western Cape’s Transport and Public Works MEC Daylin Mitchell has confirmed that the truck was overloaded.
“I was advised that the necessary paperwork was in place. The truck was overloaded, and the undertaker then dispatched an additional vehicle, and the driver was then allowed to continue with the trip.”
The weighbridge was temporarily closed after the driver confirmed that he was transporting dead bodies to a crematory in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape on Saturday afternoon.
According to IOL Spokesperson Fredelene Knowles said the funeral undertakers were compelled to move the bodies to Gqeberha as the local crematoriums were either closed or could not cope with the large volumes.
Knowles added that families are now opting for cremation as a result of the high costs of keeping a corpse at the morgue. She further added that getting a site is also a mission. “It’s difficult – we have to phone around for space,” said funeral undertaker, Monray Adams.
As mysterious as can be, the provincial department of health wondered if the deaths were Covid-19 related. They are yet to determine the causes of death.
“We are allowing our teams to do their work and will communicate once completed”, said EMS & FPS Provincial Spokesperson/Communications Specialist at Western Cape Government Department of Health, Deanna February.
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