Last of the victims of Nigerian church collapse to be repatriated to South Africa
The last of the 81 South Africans killed in the collapse of a guesthouse in a church compound in Lagos, Nigeria in September last year will finally be repatriated to their home country this week.
According to Yahoo! News, South Africa is sending a C-130 aircraft to Lagos, Nigeria to repatriate the bodies of the remaining 11 South African nationals that died when the six-storey guesthouse collapsed on them on September 12 last year.
Seventy of the nationals have been identified in November and were repatriated by the South African government in the same month. The 11 remaining nationals had to be identified by the coroner before they could be repatriated, Yahoo! News said.
The South African nationals and other foreigners were in the compound of the Synagogue Church of all Nations, which is owned by TB Joshua. The preacher is popular in Nigeria, and allegedly has abilities in faith healing. The victims were in Lagos to witness one of Pastor's Joshua's healing services.
TB Joshua released CCTV footage recorded before the collapse, and claimed that a plane flew low over the guesthouse building caused its collapse. On another occasion, he alleged that Islamic extremists attacked the building.
However, officials from Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency said that the collapse may have been caused by strain in the building's structural integrity. A spokesperson from the Agency told the BBC that the two top floors of the building may have been added on top of the existing two without strengthening the edifice's foundation.
The subsequent rescue operation and investigation into the collapse have been criticised by South African officials, who called the rescue operation and repatriation process "slow," according to Reuters.
BBC also reported that members of the Synagogue Church of All Nations allegedly prevented rescue workers from accessing the site of the accident.
The Lagos state coroner continues to investigate the incident but Yahoo! News reports that Pastor Joshua has so far ignored summons from the coroner to testify.
