Confusion, grief as families identify bodies

TEARS flowed freely yesterday as over 300 relatives of the victims of DANA Air plane crash stormed the Lekan Ogunsola Memorial House of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja.

 Most of them broke down at the sight of the lifeless and charred bodies of their breadwinners, children and friends, who died in the ill-fated flight and others, whose houses were hit by the aircraft. To others, it was an endless search as they went round the facilities without finding their missing relations.

Confusion reigned as they moved from one end of the building, screaming “where is …(mentioning names of the affected victim). They starred into the faces of 43 decomposing bodies amid heavy stench that oozed from every side and not finding any that looked familiar to them, many of them broke down in tears. “If he is dead, why can’t I find his body to give him a befitting burial,” a woman lamented amid tears. She lost her husband in the crash.

Hospital officials told The Guardian that only 43 of the 103 bodies that were brought to the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, LASUTH were identifiable. Others were burnt beyond recognition and only through DNA could their relatives identify them.

The bodies have been taken to the Mainland General Hospital for examination beginning from yesterday. Of the 43 identifiable bodies, families and friends had identified only 29 as at 4 p.m. yesterday.

The Chief Medical Director (CMD), LASUTH, Prof. Wale Oke told The Guardian at the hospital’s mortuary, that there was need to conduct a DNA test on the bodies to ensure that each family receives the right corpse belonging to it and to guard against litigation that might arise as a result of wrong handling of the corpses. He noted that the family members of deceased had started the process of blood donation and filling of forms for the exercise. “We will be conducting Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test, among other tests, as part of the forensic test, requiring the blood of the family members to conduct the test by matching it with the DNA of the dead.” He continued: “The tissues of the dead will be taken and match it with the blood specimen of the family members to ascertain the true relative of each victim. This will help to reduce the confusion of body identification. We need to approach it carefully and professionally because one cannot rule out litigation in its entirety.”

Oke noted that in the next two days, the processes of identifying the bodies would be over and the victims handed over to their families for burial, adding that those deposited at the Lagos Mainland Hospital, were burnt beyond recognition.

The Guardian learnt that the Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University (LASU), who is also a professor of pathology and forensic medicine, Prof. John Oladapo Obafunwa, led the team conducting the forensic test on the dead while the state government is sponsoring the project.

Meanwhile, the crash survivors, who were also admitted to the medical and surgical emergency units, were being treated by the medical experts yesterday. Though the reinstated doctors were yet to fully resume duties, the survivors were given adequate attention.

Speaking with bereaved relatives, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, appealed to them to exercise patience and courage to identify the bodies of their beloved ones, admitting that the exercise would be very tough.

On behalf of Governor Babatunde Fashola, she commiserated with the families and friends as she urged them to take heart “because there is nothing we can do about the losses.” Orelope-Adefulire, who led members of the diplomatic corps and state officials to the hospital at 2.30 p.m., said that work was still on to evacuate bodies from the site of the crash and ensure that they were identified by their relatives.

She added that thorough investigation would be conducted into the cause of the crash. She also told the bereaved, who opposed the government’s planned mass burial for the victims that the DNA examination would be conducted to enable them retrieve their relatives.

One of the relatives said: “When you said ‘thorough investigation’ we want to believe you. You know what happened to Bellview and Sosoliso plane crashes some years ago. But we hope that the state government will set a standard with this one and erase all doubts from our minds.”

Director-General of the NCAA, Harold Demuren, told the bereaved that they were not alone in the sombre moment, as the regulatory body had also lost its members of staff, relations and friends in the “devastating accident”. He explained that the crash came with shock to the aviation industry that had enjoyed peace since the 2005/2006 incidences. “This is a devastating accident; two in 24 hours!

The plane took off from Abuja. Later we received distressed calls. We had put everything in place at the airport for an emergency landing, though very close to the airport but it did not made it. We don’t know what happened,” he said. He assured that a full-scale and transparent investigation was already on going to get to the root of the disaster.

Demuren told the relatives that their loved ones would not die in vein, even as the agency still needed to ensure that flights are safer.

At the Surgical Emergency Unit of LASUTH, five persons are still recovering from the injuries that they sustained. While one of them was on a rescue mission, the other four were residents in the affected two-storey building.

One of the affected residents, Chime Iloka, whose apartment was hit by the plane, told The Guardian how he and his daughter narrowly escaped the accident that fateful afternoon. He is still counting his losses though, and of them was his brother-in-law, Nwabunna Okafor who didn’t survive the accident. “I was inside with my daughter, brother-in-law and talking to a visitor. My daughter later told me that PHCN had brought electricity. I went to the kitchen, where the control switch is to change from generating set to the PHCN source. My daughter followed me and we were there when we heard the big bang. Everywhere was scattered. “The plane came through the veranda side where Okafor was taking a rest. I found my daughter already pushed to the wall and beneath rubbles. I pulled her out and made way for the exit. That was how we escaped. My visitor had taken the lead. I called my brother-in-law but when I heard no response, and smoke was already coming, that was when we left the building,” Iloka said.

He heard the news on Monday that his 25-year-old brother-in-law was lying in mortuary. His wife, who was in a church at the time of the accident, is now taking refuge with her daughter in a church.

More bodies of the victims have been recovered by the Lagos State Management Agency (LASEMA). According to the agency, six more bodies were recovered. The General Manager, Dr. Femi Osanyintolu, confirmed the figure. The Director, Search and Rescue Operation, Nigerian Emergency Management Authority (NEMA), Air Com, Alex Yemi Bankole, said 150 bodies had been recovered from the crash site.

He said five more bodies were retrieved from the building and other human parts that filled three bags were taken to LASUTH for identification. Wednesday 6 June 2012 http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88414:confusion-grief-as-families-identify-bodies-amid-stench&catid=1:national&Itemid=559