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S. Africa vows to bring back remains in Nigerian building collapse

Xinhua, January 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

The South African government on Friday reiterated its "steadfast commitment" to the repatriation of all the remains of the South Africans killed in a Nigerian building collapse.

"The government acknowledges that families of the victims need to begin the healing process. This can only happen once their loved ones are brought back home for proper burial," government spokeswoman Phumla Williams said.

A guesthouse belonging to the Christian Synagogue, Church of All Nations collapsed in Lagos on Sept. 12 last year, killing 116 people including 85 South Africans.

Seventy-four bodies of the South Africans have been repatriated. Eleven bodies remain unaccounted for due to the inability to match the DNA samples.

Social workers together with the South African forensic unit have visited the families of the 11 unaccounted bodies, Williams said.

Fresh samples collected from the family representatives have been submitted to the laboratory for processing, she said, adding that the verification has commenced following the festive break.

The South African government has been collaborating with the Nigerian authorizes to finalize identifying the 11 outstanding South African bodies, Williams said.

"We will communicate with the families as soon as the Nigerian laboratory finalizes the process," she said. Endi