Sowetan reports that emotions ran high at the Middelburg government mortuary on Tuesday where the families of eight of the nine people who died in a road crash on Friday arrived to have DNA samples taken for the identification process of the burnt bodies.  

The crash victims died on the N11, the day they all started work at a coal mine in the Mpumalanga town.  MEC for community safety, security and liaison Gabisile Shabalala said the process would take two weeks to finalise as it needed blood samples from relatives for conclusive DNA results.  The ninth person’s identity has not been verified.  Martha Nzinisa, the mother Majahonke Madonsela, one of the victims, told Sowetan that on the day of the crash she waited for him to come home so they could celebrate the news that he had found a new job.  “My son had not been getting proper jobs but piece jobs.  When he told us that on Friday morning he’s going for an induction to start a new job on Monday, we were very happy…  I waited for him to come home and didn’t know that he was dead until on Saturday morning.  My heart is very sore.  I thought our lives would get better after he got the job,” Nzinisa said.  MEC for public works, roads and transport Gillion Mashego said human error and driver’s impatience were to blame for the crash.  Several people were also injured.

• Read more of Mandla Kjhosa’s report on the above in Sowetan at SA Labour News

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