Relatives wanted for DNA samples

MULISA SIMIYASAOTJIWARONGOPolice have urged relatives of people who perished in a deadly accident on Friday morning north of Okahandja to avail themselves for DNA sampling that would lead to the identification of the 14 victims.The deceased people burned beyond recognition, according to the police, and their remains were all transported to a mortuary in Windhoek where the identification process is expected to start through DNA forensic sampling.In total, 18 people died tragically on Thursday night and in the early hours of Friday morning in two separate road accidents that occurred at Okahandja along the B1 road.The police spokesperson in the Otjozondjupa Region, Inspector Maureen Mbeha, in an interview with Nampa on Friday said 15 people including a baby died in the 16-seater passenger bus they were travelling in after it collided with a Volkswagen sedan 14 kilometres north of Okahandja.It is reported that 14 people in the bus burned beyond recognition, while the other victim in the sedan also died on the spot – making it 15 deaths in total from that specific accident.Mbeha said the bus was travelling from the direction of Okahandja, and the sedan from Otjiwarongo.According to Mbeha, this collision occurred in the early hours of Friday between 03:00 and 04:00.It is alleged that the sedan first hit a wild animal, and this allegedly caused the driver to lose control over it, colliding head-on with the bus which was oncoming, she said.“Both vehicles burst into flames due to the severe impact,” Mbeha stated.The deceased people were all transported to a mortuary in Windhoek where the identification process is expected to start through DNA forensic sampling.Mbeha thus calls on close relatives of the deceased to contact the Windhoek police in order to assist them in a DNA sampling method that would lead to identification of the bodies.In another accident, three people died after the Fiat Uno they were travelling in collided head-on with an Audi approximately five kilometres south of Okahandja.Mbeha said the three deceased in the Fiat were identified as 51-year-old Engenesia Tjipitua, Petorua Tjipitua, 25, and three-year-old boy, Uvanga Tjipitua.The 37-year-old male driver of the Audi survived the accident with severe injuries.Police investigations in both incidents continue.MVA Fund devastatedThe Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund on Friday expressed shock over the loss of 19 lives recorded in three separate road accidents which occurred in the Omaheke and Otjozondjupa regions on Thursday and Friday.MVA’s CEO Rosalia Martins-Hausiku said the fund was devastated to learn about the 19 people who died tragically in road accidents, worse days the nation was geared up to commemorate the Nation’s human rights day on 10 December.“Therefore, we wish to extend our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, friends and community members who tragically lost their beloved ones on Thursday night and Friday morning in accidents of Omaheke and Otjozondjupa regions,” she said.Martins-Hausiku said the MVA on Friday morning at 03:58 received a call of the collision between a 16-seater minibus and a Volkswagen sedan where 15 people died.The same MVA call centre on Friday morning at about 04:40 also recorded an accident on the Otjinene road in the Omaheke Region.“The bus had rolled after its tyre burst and one person died, while 11 others sustained moderate to severe injuries,” she said.Shocking enough, these two accidents with many causalities were recorded by the MVA centre at a time the fund had received the first call of an Audi and Uno Fiat which collided head-on south of Okahandja on the B1 road between Windhoek and Okahandja in the Otjozondjupa Region on Thursday night – where three people died.Martins-Hausiku advised the bereaved family members of these three accidents to visit any MVA offices in the country where they can apply for financial and material assistance. – NAMPA

Relatives wanted for DNA samples

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-08

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Relatives wanted for DNA samples

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-08

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