Hurdles in identifying tsunami victims

By Kate McGeown
BBC News, Phuket

A year after Thailand was hit by the Asian tsunami, more than 800 bodies have yet to be identified.

The identification process has been an international effort

For those still missing loved ones, the process can seem agonisingly slow.

"It seems to be taking such a long time," said Yupin Chortpatpad, who is still searching for the body of her nine-year-old son. "I've already given five different samples to the authorities."

The samples Ms Yupin is referring to include data from close relatives, fragments of the missing person's hair, toothbrush and schoolbooks - anything, in fact, that the experts at the Thai tsunami victim identification centre can use to link the profiles of those still missing with the bodies still unclaimed.

In the first traumatic days after the tsunami, many relatives and friends of the missing turned up at makeshift morgues in temples along the western Thai coast, and simply took away the bodies of those they recognised.

In pictures: The ID process

But now the identification process is much more sophisticated, with an international team of specialists from 35 countries involved in what has been widely recognised as the largest operation of its kind ever undertaken.

Yes the process is long, but it needs to be, according to the head of the centre, Police Colonel Pomprasert Kanchanarin.

"We have to be accurate," he said with emphasis. "It is very, very important."

He has a right to be cautious. In the early days, before the centre existed, there were at least eight cases of mistaken identity.

Laborious process

The centre has so far identified about 3,000 bodies, using a variety of techniques ranging from dental records, DNA and fingerprints to the possessions found on or near the victim.

THAI TSUNAMI TOLL Official death toll is 5,395 About 3,000 Thais and 2,400 foreigners died Another 2,800 still listed as missing About 800 bodies still unidentified

"A lot of Westerners were identified through their dental records and DNA. For example, all Swedish people have their DNA recorded at birth," said the centre's identification co-ordinator Howard Way.

"Many of the Thais, though, were identified by their fingerprints, because every Thai has to get an ID card with their fingerprint on at the age of 15."

Other bodies had identifiable characteristics which the team were able to use - such as arms or legs that were broken in the past, breast implants, hip replacements or pacemakers.

But there are many remaining bodies which are badly decomposed and have no special markers. In these cases, DNA is practically the only way in which they can now be identified, with experts using any additional data to help confirm a potential match.

Even DNA analysis can sometimes be fraught with complications. "A difficulty with some families, especially the Thais, is that sadly the whole family has gone so there is no one with a close match," said Mr Way.

Yupin Chortpatpad is still looking for the body of her son

"Sometimes their homes and schools have gone too, so there is not much to go on," he said.

The team also faces problems when it is given incorrect information about the estimated 2,800 people still registered as missing.

Some victims have probably never been reported missing as their whole family has died. Others are still on the list but have since turned up, and the authorities have not been informed.

"We have had cases where a team has gone to a house to ask for DNA from a close relative of a victim, and the missing person has answered the door," said Mr Way.

Even when bodies have been identified, some relatives have been unable to collect them.

"We have got more than 100 bodies waiting to be reunited with families. Many are of Thais from the north-east who find it difficult to travel here," said Col Pomprasert Kanchanarin.

Others are victims from the area's large Burmese community, who are stuck in an administrative loophole.

Like the relatives of more than 70 other Burmese victims, 20-year-old Saru knows her sister's body has been identified, but she still cannot claim it back.

"I really want to have the body," she said. "We want to have a traditional Burmese funeral."

Saru knows where her sister's body is, but she cannot get it

But before they release each body, the Thai authorities require documents from the victims' governments, and the Burmese military junta refuses to recognise any of its citizens who cross the border to find work - even people like Saru and her sister, who were both legally registered in Thailand.

For Burmese victims who were in the country illegally, the outlook is even bleaker. Many families are simply too afraid to even alert the authorities that their relatives are missing, let alone take steps to collect their remains.

Winding down

As time goes on, the families still waiting for news are gradually facing up to the fact that they may never find the remains of their loved ones.

Eventually it will be impossible to glean more information from the remaining cadavers.

Col Pomprasert heads a team which has included staff from 35 nations

The centre has just moved from the tsunami-affected island of Phuket to Bangkok, where a smaller team will continue the work for at least another year.

"After that, we'll assess the situation again," said Col Pomprasert Kanchanarin. "If we decide to bury the bodies, we will embalm them and give each a number so we can exhume it later if we know more."

For Yupin Chortpatpad, still searching for her young son, the prospect of never finding his body is yet another blow.

"I worry about how many bodies are left. What if none of them is my son?" she said, with tears in her eyes.

"In Thai culture, if you can't find the body of the person who has died, then the monks can't pray for them before they are cremated, and their lifecycle is not complete."

Then, in almost a whisper, she added: "I'm also afraid he might be cold and still waiting for me somewhere."