Putco bus fire victims identified
Mpumalanga premier, Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, said she was satisfied that the six families whose relatives died in a bus crash will finally get to bury them.
This is after Mtshweni-Tsipane intervened for DNA tests to be concluded without delays for the identification of the victims who had died when a Putco bus they were travelling in caught fire on the Moloto Road about a month ago.
The remains have now been handed over to the respective families. The six bodies were burnt beyond recognition and DNA tests had to be conducted for identification.
READ: Putco buses impounded
“We are a government of the people and have to be there for them. We could not just sit back when these families needed help. They lost their breadwinners. It was therefore important that the bus company be made to take responsibility and do right for these families. That is what we eventually achieved as the Mpumalanga government together with Putco,” she said.
Through her intervention the bus company contributed towards burial costs of the victims. Three of the victims were buried on Saturday July 10. Mtshweni-Tsipane’s intervention and support was commended by the spokesperson for the families, Abraham Nhlapo, who said, “We would like to thank her for the continued support to us all during this difficult time.”
