The Gauteng Department of Health calls on citizens who are missing loved ones to visit one of the 11 forensic pathology service (FPS) mortuaries across the province.

This as the department announced that a total of 340 unclaimed bodies are still lying in Pretoria mortuaries, while a total of 938 unclaimed and unidentified bodies are lying across their 11 FPS mortuaries.

Departmental spokesperson Tshepo Shawa provides the numbers of unidentified bodies:

• Bronkhorstspruit (eight),
• Ga-Rankuwa (69),
• Pretoria (263),
• Germiston (127),
• Heidelberg (nine),
• Sebokeng (94),
• Springs (49),
• Carletonville (45),
• Diepkloof (49),
• Johannesburg (187) and
• Roodepoort (38).

MEC for Health and Wellness Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko says it is concerning that the number of unclaimed and identified bodies is increasing by the day.

“There are families who have been looking for their loved ones not knowing where they are. We encourage them to visit FPS mortuaries to check if their loved ones are not part of the unclaimed bodies; and if that is the case, they can give them a proper burial,” adds Nkomo-Ralehoko.

She says a family member or relative who wishes to identify their loved one should provide their original Identity Document, as well as the ID of the deceased or birth certificate if the deceased is a child, to claim the body.

“If the deceased is a foreign national, a passport, asylum seeker certificate or a letter from the country of origin confirming who the deceased is and to who the remains should be handed over is needed.

“Once a body of a deceased is not identified or claimed within seven days, fingerprints are sent to the SAPS Criminal Record Centre for identification and to the Department of Home Affairs for matching with their records.”

Nkomo-Ralehoko says if the identification process is successful, the next of kin would be made aware of the deceased through the SAPS’s investigating officer for final release and burial or cremation.

“If the body is still unidentified 30 days after exhausting means of identification, including the use of fingerprints, pauper burial processes are used for the final burial of the deceased.”

The department says it would continue trying to trace family members.