Marchioness hands removal queried

The Marchioness collided with a dredger

The judge leading the inquiry into the Marchioness disaster has expressed concern at the decision to sever the hands from 21 of the victims.

Lord Justice Clarke was speaking after hearing that no one person was appointed at the time of the tragedy to oversee directly what identification evidence was available relative to each body.

The families of those who died have criticised the coroner, Dr Knapman.

If it could be said that there was a good chance that an identification could be made in the near future then no reasonable decision maker could decide to remove the hands

Lord Justice Clarke

They have said that in some cases the bodies had already been identified by either clothing, dental records or cash cards and the removal of the hands was unnecessary.

The Marchioness, a pleasure boat, sank on the River Thames in 1989 following a collision with the dredger Bowbelle.

The inquiry heard that a decision was made to cut off the hands of all of the victims found in the river outside the boat to record fingerprints before the bodies deteriorated.

In the event, the hands of 25 of the 51 victims were removed.

Dr Shepherd advised on fingerprinting

Pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd told the inquiry he had informed Dr Knapman that fingerprint identification was crucial to avoid any confusion over each body.

But he said he had no part in the decision to cut off the hands, a decision he believed was taken by the coroner.

Lord Justice Clarke said he believed the circumstances of each individual body should have been considered before the hands were cut off due to the obvious trauma it would cause the family.

Dental records

"It is distressing for families to have the hands of their sons or daughters removed in a way that cannot be said of dental records," he said.

"So if it could be said that there was a good chance that an identification could be made in the near future then no reasonable decision maker could decide to remove the hands.

"Someone should have the responsibility of considering this very question so that in the future there should be someone charged with this responsibility and everyone should know who that is."

Dr Knapman: Due to give evidence

The inquiry heard that since the Marchioness disaster, identification commissions had been set up consisting of a coroner, pathologist and senior police officers to discuss identification procedures.

Dr Shepherd, who carried out more than half of the Marchioness post-mortem examinations, told the inquiry that fingerprinting was a vital part of identifying bodies in mass accidents.

In the case of the Marchioness disaster the bodies deteriorated very quickly due to their immersion in water and fingerprinting had to be done quickly while still possible.

"To rely solely on visual identification is to run the risk of making a mistake," he went on.

"We will always need other features to confirm the identification of an individual."

He added that he had not been asked whether he thought it was necessary to cut off the hands.

Dr Knapman is due to give evidence on Friday.