The family of Tebatso Ntshane, the SAA crew member, who was on the mission to repatriate over 100 South Africans in Wuhan amid the outbreak of COVID-19 said they were saddened by her sudden death.
Ntshane, 39, from Attridgeville in Pretoria, succumbed to liver cancer and not coronavirus, on Sunday after she was admitted to hospital on May 15.
Speaking to Sunday World, Ntshane’s aunt Tebatso Sekwala, said her niece complained of having pains and was taken to hospital where she was admitted.
Sekwala said after she was tested for both COVID-19 and other diseases, the results cleared her of the novel coronavirus but confirmed she died of cancer.
“She was not aware that she had cancer when she took on the mission to Wuhan that is why she was excited to go. Also, she didn’t show any signs of being sick when she arrived because she was cleared of COVID-19 while she was in quarantine in Polokwane. All I can say is that she was excited to go on the mission to Wuhan,” she said.
SAA Chief Pilot, Vusi Khumalo, has also expressed his sadness over the death Ntshane, saying she was the first person to volunteer to take on the mission. President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier paid tribute to Ntshane, a hero in the country’s battle against COVID-19. Ntshane will be buried on Thursday.
