The department of health in Gauteng is appealing to people who have missing family members to visit Forensic Pathology Services (FPS) mortuaries.
According to the department, 938 bodies remain unclaimed and unidentified in FPS’s 11 mortuaries across the province.
Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko has raised concerns about the increasing number of unclaimed bodies.
“There are families who have been looking for their loved ones not knowing where they are,” said Nkomo-Ralehoko.
“We encourage them to visit FPS mortuaries to check if their loved ones are not part of the unclaimed bodies, and if that is the case, they can give them a proper burial.”
She added that a family member or relative who wishes to identify their loved one should have an ID, the ID of the deceased or a birth certificate if the deceased is a child.
“If the deceased is a foreign national, a passport, asylum-seeker certificate or letter from the country of origin confirming who the deceased is and who the remains should be handed to.”
The department warned that if the body is not claimed or identified within seven days, fingerprints are sent to police’s criminal record centre for identification.
The fingerprints are also sent to Home Affairs for matching with their records.
“If the body is still unidentified after 30 days after exhausting means of identification, pauper burial processes are used for the final burial of the deceased.”
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