BENJAMIN NJOKU
As they gazed into  space, feelings of numbness and despair were written all over their faces. At one time,  they would jump-up and scream in disbelief.

At other times, they would race to the main entrance of the morgue to behold the charred bodies of the victims which were occasionally wheeled out by the mortuary attendants for clarification by the family members.

Bumi and Bose were both friends and colleagues to Inibo Asuquo, a corps member serving inLagosStatewho was involved in the plane crash. Their moods were not different from that of  tens of thousands of  families of other victims who besieged the place.

A Naval Officer, Joe Aikhomu, and others relation of the victims of DANA Air crashed at Iju-Ishaga, waiting for clarification at General Hospital Mortuary in Ikeja Lagos state, on 05/06/2012. Photo: Bunmi Azeez

This was the sombre atmosphere that pervaded the Lekan Ogunsola memorial Hospital, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital(LASUTH), Ikeja, where the corpses of the victims of the last Sunday’s Dana plane crash were deposited.

When Saturday Vanguard visited the morgue on Tuesday, it was a ‘sorry tale of woes and wailing’ at the place as family members, relatives, close associates and friends of the victims  besieged  the morgue. While the corpses were wheeled out,  cries of hopelessness, agony and gloom rented the air. Family members and sympathisers could not control their emotions as they cried in a manner that was questioning God ‘ why are all these tragedies are befalling the country?’

In their anguish, the families took turns to identify the charred bodies of the victims. In fact, the families stormed the morgue armed with pictures and other identifiable items belonging to the victims. At the morgue, the corpses  which were already decomposing were put in  blue-sacks with the deceased names written on the sacks for easy identification. While some families who identified their dead were retrieving them for burial, others who couldn’t do so, were seen  running up and down, discussing in hush-tunes.

At least, Saturday Vanguard witnessed about six corpses which were removed from the mortuary on Tuesday. Releasing a  list of 29 victims that have been identified by their relatives even as relations of victims who thronged the hospital mortuary for possible collection of the bodies could not do so,  the hospital management  has insisted that autopsy had to be carried out on them, according to Lagos State coroner law before the corpses will be released to the relatives.

Indeed, it is only ‘ a heart as strong as a stone’ that cannot melt at the sight of those charred bodies  of Nigerians were killed in the ill-fated Dana plane crash.

Though some of the victims’ families declined talking to the press, they were mostly concerned about how to  identify their loved ones and if possible, retrieve  the corpses of the victims. It was also  the views of  the families that there is no amount of words and complaints that would bring back their loved ones to life.

“There is no amount of words and grief  that can bring back our beloved sister and daughter back to life,” said Mrs.Usen a relation of one of the victims, Mrs Sera Mishelia.

Mishelia, before she met her untimely death last Sunday, worked with the Office of the Secretary to the Federal Government.

According to Mrs Usen, Mishela  who hailed fromAdamawaStatewas coming toLagoson official assignment. She was also expected to move fromLagosto Port-Harcourt and later,Kanobefore returning toAbuja.

In an emotion laden voice, Mrs Usen continued, “it is not a normal thing to hear that your loved one has just passed on like that. If it’s something that has to do with sickness, it is a different thing altogether. It is not easy but we give God the glory.”

Usen who lives in Apapa area ofLagos, lamented that the problem they are facing at the moment is  how to retrieve the remains of the 46 year-old Mishelia for burial.

“Our pain now is how to retrieve her corpse. If we can retrieve her corpse, her parents would be rest assured that she was involved in the plane crash and that her remains have been buried.” she said.

Also, narrating their own ordeal to Saturday Vanguard, Mr Uche,  a relation of another victim of the plane crash, Mr. Sunday Eluma, who was on board with his son, Ebuka said they got to know about his involvement in the crash through the manifest released on Monday.

“Mr Eluma was anAbujabased  businessman. He was coming toLagoson a business trip with his son, Ebuka before they met their end. We have visited the scene of the incident before we were directed to the LASUTH morgue. At the moment, we have identified the corpse of the son, but that of the father is yet to be identified,” Uche narrated, declining however to comment in terms of compensating families of the victims.

He called on the government to endeavour to set a standard in the aviation industry, by doing away with outdated air-crafts in order to save many lives that are frequently lost as a  result of  the plane crashes.

Other victims, whose relations were at  the morgue on Tuesday to identify their bodies included, Tunji Oloko, Head of Investigation, First  Bank Plc, Anthonia Attah, who worked with CBN, and the 23 year old Inibo Asuquo, a corps member who was lost in her prime in the ill-fated plane crash.

According to Oloko’s relation, who wouldn’t want his name in print, the deceased who lived inAbujawas inLagos, last Monday, on official assignment. He was equally coming toLagosagain on another official assignment but unknown to him that he would not make it back toAbuja.

Devastated also was the father of the corps member who was involved in the plane crash.  The deceased’s father while sharing his agonies with the newsmen said he had a plan of sending his amiable   daughter to the UK for  further studies after her NYSC. A dream, he noted had been punctuated by her sudden demise last Sunday.

Narrating further, he said Inibo who had a Second Class Upper Division in Estate Management was on board with her guardian, Patience Udoh before tragedy struck. “We love her, and we are going to miss her.” her father lamented.

Meanwhile a statement released by the hospital management as that Tuesday indicated that  about 52 bodies have already been identified by the victims’ families. Some of the bodies included that of  Martin Alade(m), Sonny Ehioghae(m), Temitope Ariyibi(F), Okocha Christopher(M), Stanford Obstrute(M), Ikpoki Obiola(m), Patrick Eze(m). Others were Femi Shobowale(m), Kim Edger Norris(m), Anibaba Tosin(F) amongst others.

Saturday Vanguard gathered that 14 out of the 52 bodies at the hospital were yet to be identified by their relations. Anxious relations of the victims who have identified their dead  corpses were seen prevailing on the hospital management to release the corpses to them. As the clamour lingered, Chief Medical Director of LASUTH, Professor Wale Oke told the impatient relations of the dead that “already we have started carrying out autopsy today, and we are going to do at least 12 autopsies per day.”

According to him, out of the 147 bodies that have been recovered, about 52 identifiable ones were deposited at LASUTH while 97 unidentifiable bodies were deposited at themainlandHospital, Yaba.

Also, Professor John Obafunwa, Consultant Pathologist and Forensic Medicine and Vice-Chancellor, LASU  led seven other pathologists to commence autopsy on the corpses.