74 South Africans killed in Nigerian Church collapse repartriated home

The bodies of 74 South Africans killed in the Nigeria church collapse have arrived in South Africa just over two months after the incident. The bodies arrived at Waterkloof Air Force base reported Eyewitness News.Eighty-five South Africans were killed in the collapse at TB Joshua's Synagogue Church of All Nations church.

"We can confirm that we depart with 74 South Africans," spokesperson Phumla Williams said in a statement on Saturday. "On arrival in South Africa, the families will be able to receive their loved ones to take them to their final ancestral resting places."

A total of 116 people died on 12 September, when a guest house belonging to the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos - headed by preacher TB Joshua - collapsed. Twenty-six injured South Africans were repatriated a month ago. Twenty of them had since been discharged from hospitals and reunited with their families, Williams said.



Last week, Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe was appointed as a Special Envoy to Nigeria to oversee the repatriation process of the 85 bodies.
Williams said the focus had been preparations to repatriate the deceased for the past six weeks.

"The verification of the mortal remains has been the most difficult part. This was because of the gruesome nature of the accident, which made the identification process difficult," Williams said.

The verification process had resorted to performing DNA tests at the laboratory.
There had been a delay in a scheduled media briefing which was set to be held at 15:00 South African time where Radebe was expected to update the media on the final repatriation plan.