News / National
NUST identifies charred remains of accident victims
07 Aug 2017 at 01:32hrs | Views
THE National University of Science and Technology (Nust) Applied Genetic Testing Centre (AGTC) laboratory has, through DNA profiling, positively identified 11 people who were burnt beyond recognition in a recent road accident.
Among the bodies were those of three police officers and a murder suspect that they had arrested.
The 11 died on July 24 when a Honda CRV and a Nissan Caravan collided at the 60km peg along Centenary-Mvurwi Road. Fourteen people were injured.
Both vehicles are suspected to have been speeding and they caught fire on impact.
On Friday, Nust's AGTC director Mr Zephaniah Dhlamini said the university managed to profile the 11 bodies.
"There were 11 bodies and four different body parts that were picked. So we even matched the body parts to the bodies. The bodies were seriously charred and you could not identify them using the eye. In the process some heads had exploded and their brains were scattered. So we picked the brains and did DNA identification and everything was pieced up," he said.
Mr Dhlamini could not release the names of the deceased saying it was the work of the police to do so after due procedure.
"One of the vehicles was being driven by police officers who were from arresting a murder suspect. The vehicle was carrying three officers and a murder suspect and they all died on the spot. We managed to identify all of them. We also identified seven bodies that were in the kombi," said Mr Dhlamini.
He said the AGTC identified the bodies within a week as the relatives of the deceased cooperated in bringing identification samples.
He said it was pleasing that the Government was appreciating the good work Nust is doing, trusting the tertiary institution with critical jobs.
He however expressed concern that there were delays in paying for the services they would have rendered.
"We are now being owed $21 000 from previous works. I hope they will pay because the material we use is not cheap, the technology is not cheap. So I hope they are going to meet our invoices in good time," he said.
Among the bodies were those of three police officers and a murder suspect that they had arrested.
The 11 died on July 24 when a Honda CRV and a Nissan Caravan collided at the 60km peg along Centenary-Mvurwi Road. Fourteen people were injured.
Both vehicles are suspected to have been speeding and they caught fire on impact.
On Friday, Nust's AGTC director Mr Zephaniah Dhlamini said the university managed to profile the 11 bodies.
"There were 11 bodies and four different body parts that were picked. So we even matched the body parts to the bodies. The bodies were seriously charred and you could not identify them using the eye. In the process some heads had exploded and their brains were scattered. So we picked the brains and did DNA identification and everything was pieced up," he said.
Mr Dhlamini could not release the names of the deceased saying it was the work of the police to do so after due procedure.
"One of the vehicles was being driven by police officers who were from arresting a murder suspect. The vehicle was carrying three officers and a murder suspect and they all died on the spot. We managed to identify all of them. We also identified seven bodies that were in the kombi," said Mr Dhlamini.
He said the AGTC identified the bodies within a week as the relatives of the deceased cooperated in bringing identification samples.
He said it was pleasing that the Government was appreciating the good work Nust is doing, trusting the tertiary institution with critical jobs.
He however expressed concern that there were delays in paying for the services they would have rendered.
"We are now being owed $21 000 from previous works. I hope they will pay because the material we use is not cheap, the technology is not cheap. So I hope they are going to meet our invoices in good time," he said.
Source - chronicle
