Plane crash victims to be buried in Namibia

Some families of the 33 victims who died in Mozambique Airlines Flight TM 470 that crashed in Kavango-East in November last year have opted to have the remains buried in Namibia.

That was one of the options given to the families by the Namibian government after the National Forensic Science Institute (NFSI) had identified the remains.

On Friday, the NFSI, through Namibian Police Major-General James Tjivikua, announced at a press briefing that they have managed to positively identify the remains of 16 of the 33 crash victims.

Tjivikua said the families of nine of the victims identified so far have asked for the remains to be repatriated.

NFSI Director Dr Paul Ludik said the victims’ families were given the option to have the partial or full remains sent back to their countries of origin for burial.

The remains of five victims have been repatriated for burial.

Ludik would not make public their names, age, sex or nationality, saying only their families and governments could do so.

“In some instances the bodies have been handed over, and in some instances the families have preferred not to have them back. These families will now guide us as to how and when they will be ready to receive the remains,” said Ludik.

He said the 42-member forensic team, which included foreign experts doing DNA analysis to identify the crash victims, has been reduced.

Ludik said the process of identification is likely to be completed only after all reference samples given by relatives are compared with the body parts collected at the crash site.

“Considering all factors involved, we anticipate we are in the final stages of the overall process,” Ludik said.

Tjivikua added that the wreckage recovery teams, including the airline-appointed Kenyon insurance, surveyed the crash site on January 16. The teams will now draft a plan to remove the wreckage by next month.

Tuesday 21 January 2014

http://sun.com.na/accidents/crash-victims-be-buried-in-namibia.61573