Nigeria collapse: SA victims return home today
The South African victims of the building collapse will return home today, two months after the tragedy.
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JOHANNESBURG - The families of those killed in the Nigerian building collapse will finally get closure today, when the remains of their loved ones return home.
A plane, sent to Lagos to collect the bodies, will arrive in Pretoria this afternoon.
More than a 100 people died when the guest house at the Synagogue Church of All Nations collapsed almost two months ago.
The collapse occurred when three extra storeys were being added to the existing two of a guest house of the church compound, where visitors from abroad flock to stay.
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An inquiry is still underway to determine what caused the tragedy.
The long wait is almost over for families, with only a few hours before they receive the remains of their loved ones.
Over the next few days, families will finally be able to give their relatives a dignified burial, two months after the tragedy.
The inter-ministerial task team's Phumla Williams says there will be a short ceremony at the Swartkop Air Force Base today.
"We have also briefed them; we've even invited two per family. It is going to be a very emotional moment. There will be a short ceremony."
The remains will then be transported to various mortuaries in Gauteng while families in other provinces are expected to receive the bodies of their loves ones in coming days.
Nigeria has a history of building collapses due to shoddy construction, with 130 reported incidents from 2007 to 2012 in Lagos alone, its vast and largest city of 21 million people.
