GAUTENG – This is after the number of bodies lying in government mortuaries has risen to over 900.

The Health Department is now pleading with those who have previously opened missing person dockets or who have missing family members to check with local mortuaries in different Forensic Pathology Services offices.

Vaal alone is sitting with 94 unidentified bodies at its Sebokeng Pathology offices.

Gauteng health spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said the government is making a call for families to approach forensic offices in their region.

“The Gauteng Department of health is making a call to the public that we currently have over 900 unclaimed and unidentified bodies that are in our various mortuaries across the province. We call on the public that if you suspect that your loved one has been missing for some time and you suspect that something might have happened to them, you are called to visit one of the pathology services offices near you, across the province to check if your loved one is not there,” he said.

Modiba said if no one identified the bodies within 30 days, the deceased’s fingerprints would be sent to the relevant identification authorities to see if their relatives could be identified.

“If the bodies are not identified in the next 30 days, we will have to bury them as pauper,” he said.