Port Fire: Five Bodies Still Unclaimed

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Port Fire: Five Bodies Still Unclaimed

3:04 CAT | 08 Jan 2016

Jornal Notícias

Five of the 16 bodies of thieves who died in the fire at the grain terminal in Matola port on 13 December have still not been claimed by relatives, according to a report on the independent television station, STV.

The fire broke out when thieves were siphoning fuel out of a pipeline that runs past the grain terminal. In the darkness, one of the thieves apparently lit a candle, and the result was an explosion and a massive blaze.

Most of the fishing boats used by the thieves to enter the port were destroyed, and severe damage was done to the terminal.

Over the next three days badly charred bodies were recovered from Maputo Bay. Five of these bodies entered the morgue at Maputo Central Hospital on15 December, and a further 11 the following day.

Despite repeated appeals for relatives to come forward and identify the bodies, five of the corpses are still unclaimed. A spokesperson for the Maputo City Health Directorate told STV that, despite the severe burns, relatives of the 11 people whose bodies have been claimed were able to identify them visually, without resort to DNA tests.

The spokesman warned that the bodies cannot remain in the morgue indefinitely. If relatives do not claim them within the next 30 days, the bodies will be deposited in a mass grave.

The police say they are continuing to investigate the theft of fuel which led to this tragedy. So far 18 people have been arrested, including policemen and guards of the private security company that was supposed to be guarding the port premises.

From an abandoned house near the port, the police recovered about 8,000 litres of stolen fuel, and 757 empty containers that were to have been used to store fuel. This well-organised stash is one of the indications that theft of fuel at the port has been a regular occurrence.

Source: AIM