Merlin provides emergency healthcare to previously inaccessible area of the Democratic Republic of Congo
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Thai forensic work speeds up after disputes
09 Jan 2005 06:12:28 GMT
Source: Reuters
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By Crispian Balmer KRABI, Thailand, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Painstaking work to identify the thousands of foreign and local victims of the tsunami in Thailand has finally hit top gear despite lingering friction between international and local forensic teams. Pathologists from more than 25 countries are labouring at makeshift morgues in Buddhist temples around the worst affected coastline, where as many as 9,000 people died, making it the biggest forensic operation in history. "Amazingly for a group effort, this is now working like clockwork," said Dr Joshua Moshonov, an Israeli specialist from the Hebrew University School of Dentistry in Jerusalem. The forensic teams were initially overwhelmed by the scale of the tragedy and hampered by a lack of storage space for the rapidly rotting corpses. There were also severe communication problems between the Thai and the foreign specialists. "At the start we had two different systems on the go. The Thais felt we were checking on their work and were offended," said Andrea Quattrini, liaison officer for the Swiss Body Identification Team. The team has taken charge of the mortuary in Krabi, a town on the west Thai coast near the popular Phuket island resort that the tsunami hit. "Now we are working to international standards and the process has speeded up considerably," he added, standing next to a row of newly registered corpses zipped up in soiled bags. Some niggling problems remain. "The Thais don't let us work the hours we want to and don't turn up on time," complained one British forensic official, who declined to be named. But the Thais insist that work cannot begin each day until Buddhist monks at the temple complete their morning rituals, offering food and incense to the dead to appease their troubled spirits and speed their path to paradise. HARROWING IMAGES Krabi morgue contains bodies of more than 600 people, many of them holidaymakers from the devastated island of Koh Phi Phi. European and other foreign governments have spared no expense in sending teams to recover and repatriate bodies of missing nationals. Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other harder-hit and poorer countries are burying or cremating their dead mainly without identification. A nauseating stench of sickly-sweet decay hangs over the Krabi compound and flies buzz excitedly over patches of dried blood. Seemingly oblivious to the harrowing sights and smells, the international specialists hoist the grey and yellowed bodies onto trestle tables and scour the grimacing corpses for distinguishing marks such as tattoos and scars. They then take dental X-rays, see if finger printing is possible and extract DNA from bone marrow. They also remove two molar teeth from each head to be certain of getting good DNA samples. These will then be matched against samples taken from the victim's possessions, such as hair from a hair brush, or against DNA from living relatives. Computer chips are implanted into the bodies and Thai teams also separately tag all the corpses to ensure no future mix-ups. Slowly but methodically around 40 bodies a day are being processed at Krabi, which means that the initial forensic work might be finished within the next two weeks. But formal identification could take many months as all the information has to be cross referenced against records in more than 30 countries that have reported missing tourists. Beyond the temple walls a few relatives of the missing are still shifting their way through dozens of pictures of the dead, hoping to recognise something on the battered, bloated bodies that will enable them to identify their loved ones. "There is no dignity without identity. We are giving these people back their dignity," said Mario Cassanelli, a part of the Swiss forensic team. "It is very, very hard for the families to accept a death unless they have a body to grieve over."
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