Corpses pile up in KZN morgues

About 400 unclaimed bodies are lying in state mortuaries in KwaZulu-Natal - report

The Daily News reports that the bodies were located at 41 mortuaries, with 125 bodies waiting to be claimed at the Fort Napier mortuary in Pietermaritzburg.

The Inkatha Freedom Party’s Usha Roopnarain, a member of the KZN health portfolio committee, was reported as saying that some bodies had been lying in the Fort Napier mortuary since last December.

The committee apparently visited the mortuary last week.

The province’s former head of forensic pathology was quoted as saying that at some of the province’s smaller mortuaries bodies had to be stacked one on top of another.

The provincial health department attributed the delays in burying the bodies to administrative processes.

Unclaimed bodies are supposed to be buried within 30 days.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.