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YOUTUBE A scene from the formal ceremony held after the arrival of the remains of 74 people killed in the Nigeria building collapse. Screengrab: YouTubePretoria -The families of victims of the Nigeria church building collapse gathered in a hangar at the Waterkloof air force base in Pretoria on Sunday.
The sombre-looking families were glued to large television screens fixed near a stage.
The family members arrived in batches, and were ushered to chairs decorated in black cloth.
In the hangar, reporters were separated from the families by a rope.
Soldiers stood by with R5 rifles. Numerous paramedics were also in the room.
The SA Police Service brass band delivered a rendition of the 1862 American civil war song “Battle Cry of Freedom” written by American composer George Frederick Root.
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa is scheduled to address the families in the hangar.
Some family members had white scarves branded with TB Joshua's Emmanuel TV logo.
A plane carrying the remains of 74 victims landed at the base earlier.
A total of 116 people - 81 of them South African, three Zimbabwean and one a Congolese national using South African travel papers - died on September 12 when a guest house belonging to the Synagogue Church Of All Nations in Lagos, headed by Joshua, collapsed.
Twenty-six injured South Africans returned a month ago. Twenty of them have since been discharged from hospitals and reunited with their families. - Sapa
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