Government has successfully exhumed 31 bodies that succumbed to Cyclone Idai which hit the eastern parts of Zimbabwe on 16 March 2019, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa has said.
The victims had temporarily been buried in the Dombe, Sussundenga and Moussorize, and Espungabeira districts of Mozambique.
A team comprising of pathologists, the Zimbabwe Republic Police forensic officials, the Zimbabwe National Army and the Civil Registry carried out the exercise, assisted by the Zimbabwean Ambassador to Mozambique, Ambassador Matematanda.
“DNA tests will be carried out in Zimbabwe by the National University of Science and Technology’s Applied Genetic Testing Centre in collaboration with the AiBST Laboratory. The two laboratories have already collected reference samples from the families who lost their loved ones during the disaster,” said Mutsvangwa.
Meanwhile, missing persons have been declared dead so as to facilitate acquisition of the relevant documentation at the Civil Registry Department and the subsequent registration of the deceased persons estates.
After DNA tests, positively identified remains will be conveyed to Mutare General Hospital in order to reduce costs for the grieving families.
