South
Africa, which lost about 84 nationals in the collapsed guest house at the
Synagogue church in Lagos, has sent a plane to fly home survivors of the
disaster.
According to reports, 349 South Africans were visiting the church at the time
of the incident. There are 265 survivors while 17 remain unaccounted for. The
96 injured are now reduced to 29, including a three-year-old.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) put the final death toll at 90
with 131 survivors.
A South African team of experts is already in the country joining the team
working on identifying the victims.
Yesterday, leader of the church,
Prophet TB Joshua, said he would travel to South Africa to meet families and
survivors of the house collapse.
Joshua told the congregation during his weekly morning service that he “will be
travelling to South Africa to meet people from South Africa and other nations
who find South Africa easier to visit, in memory of martyrs of faith.”
Joshua also observed a minute silence “in memory of martyrs of faith”.
The church leader has blamed the incident on sabotage but the Lagos State and
the federal government are investigating the claims.
The building collapsed on September 12.
Giving an update on the situation in Pretoria yesterday, the South African
Government said:
“We are aware that this is a difficult period of uncertainty for the nation,
particularly for the families, friends and colleagues of those directly
affected.
“We can assure you that the South Africa Government is working around the
clock, together with the Nigerian Government and the leadership of the Church,
through the South African High Commission and Consulate-General in Nigeria to
assist survivors and to recover, identify and confirm the deceased. South
Africa has dispatched assessment, medical, forensic, social development and
disaster management teams in this regard.
“The team deployed in Lagos comprise of internationally acclaimed experts in
the field of forensic science and disaster management. A leading member of the
team is Brigadier Helena Ras, Head of Technology Management, Criminal Records
and Forensic Sciences. Brigadier Ras is an international expert on body
identification and she consulted internationally on disaster management.
“The South African assessment team is already in Lagos is assessing the
situation on the ground and reporting back to the Inter-Ministerial Committee
through the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS).
The NATJOINTS is the operational structure of the JCPS Cabinet Cluster
constituting of all JCPS member departments such as SAPS, SANDF, Justice and
Correctional Services, NPA, Home Affairs, Social Development, Health, COGTA and
State Security. The NATJOINTS has activated all its nine Provincial Operation
Centres to directly liaise with families.
The assessment team is focussing on the following specific areas: body recovery
and repatriation, victims listing and confirmation, post-mortems as well as
assessing of injured persons to determine the medical condition and the
required levels of care.
Due to the nature and extent of the tragedy, the process of identifying the
mortal remains requires meticulous attention to detail; and Government is
confident that the team assigned to carry out this task has the necessary
capacity and skill. Meanwhile, we call for patience on the publication of
victims’ names while the due processes are followed.
Family members have been contacted and arrangements have been put in place for
them to participate in the identification process of the deceased. Only after
this process has been completed can the names of the deceased be released to
the families.
