Mbombela - The 17 bodies of Mozambican nationals who died in a horror crash in Belfast, Mpumalanga, will be transported to their home country next week.
The accident, involving a minibus taxi allegedly overloaded with Mozambican travellers and a truck, happened at around 4am on the N4 on 1 December.
"We are working hard with the families of the deceased to make sure that next week all the bodies are sent home. We have managed to identify some of the bodies, but it's still hard to identify others," said Mozambique's Consul to Mpumalanga and Limpopo, Arthur Verissimo, on Wednesday.
Verissimo said Mozambican authorities and the South African government as well as other interested parties had been working together to sort out issues surrounding the accident.
"I would like to thank the South African government for assisting us in dealing with the problems concerning the accident. I am sure that by next week, their (victims) families will start burying them."
Verissimo said the Mozambique government would not conduct a mass funeral.
"Every family will be allowed to take their loved ones and bury them in a respectful way, but we will make sure that the people get a dignified burial."
DNA tests results were expected to be released on Monday to help identify the bodies, but the process is yet to be completed.
"We are currently working on the DNA tests, which will be released very soon. Only two bodies have been identified by their families," said provincial police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Leonard Hlathi.
He said the identified bodies were part of three taxi passengers who were flung out of the taxi before it caught fire.
Mpumalanga community safety, security and liaison department spokesman Joseph Mabuza said the driver of the taxi, which was heading to Johannesburg, lost control and collided head-on with a truck that was heading towards Mbombela.
"The minibus... veered out of its lane and collided head-on with the truck. The truck dragged the minibus and both vehicles caught fire, burning passengers and both drivers beyond recognition," said Mabuza.
He said the taxi had been overloaded. "The taxi had 17 people including the driver but it was only made to carry 15 people, including the driver," he said, adding that the driver of the truck had also died.
