Sanglah victim identification team struggling<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
One and a half months after the tragic Bali bombings, the
\nmultinational identification team has so far been unable to
\nfinish the identification process for the remaining dead. Despite
\ntheir best efforts and commitment to finishing their undeniably
\ngrisly task, the team is encountering extreme difficulties in
\nidentifying the remaining 36 heavily burned bodies of the total
\n185 known dead.<\/p>\n
This figure does not take into account body parts and the
\nmissing.<\/p>\n
The head of the Forensic Division at Sanglah Central Hospital
\nin Bali, Dr. I Made Maker, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday that
\nthe team was experiencing difficulty in matching the DNA from the
\nbodies with a name or a family, as the team has not found any
\nsimilarities with DNA traces drawn from the family members of the
\nvictims.<\/p>\n
\"We must be meticulous and careful in matching up the DNA of
\nthe victims. If we wrongfully identify victims, we could be sued
\nby the victim's family,\" said Maker.<\/p>\n
The team has issued a call for all individuals who believe
\nthey may have lost their relatives to provide the team with
\nsamples of hair, traces of blood or even DNA from family members
\nto compare with the DNA of unidentified victims.<\/p>\n
Maker said the team initiated DNA testing for all bodies a
\nmonth ago since most were heavily burned and could not be
\nidentified with other methods of analysis such as dental records
\nand finger print matching.<\/p>\n
\"The condition of the unidentified bodies makes visual
\nidentification virtually impossible, even determining whether the
\nvictim is male or female. There are no traces of human forms left
\nin many cases,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A single sample of DNA taken costs around Rp 8 million
\n(US$869). For the current identification process, the team needs
\nat least three DNA samples from families to match with the DNA
\ndrawn from the bodies. The team, which is comprised of forensic
\nexperts from Australia and Indonesia have now managed to record
\nthe DNA of all unidentified bodies, but have not found matches
\nwith the samples or relatives.<\/p>\n
To slow the decaying process the bodies are currently being
\nstored in a special storage freezer container located behind the
\nmorgue.<\/p>\n
Maker said due to a lack of storage capacity and
\ninfrastructure in the morgue, the hospital had to borrow the
\ncontainer from a local businessman.<\/p>\n
The maximum morgue capacity is eight bodies.<\/p>\n
When the Post visited the morgue on Saturday, several
\nAustralian morticians were seen doing their utmost to clean and
\nmake-up the identified bodies prior to transport to Australia.<\/p>\n
When asked how long it may take to find a match with the
\nremaining bodies, Maker said it would depend on the Australian
\nforensic team to complete their work as the Australian government
\nhad asked the Bali provincial administration to refrain from
\nholding a mass burial for the victims.<\/p>\n
However, Director of Services at the Sanglah Hospital Dr. I
\nWayan Sutarga said if there was no progress in the identification
\nprocess of the bodies within a week, the administration would
\nseek consultation with the government of Australia, Japan and
\nother countries on the further disposition of the bodies.<\/p>\n
Only two of 137 injured victims are still undergoing intensive
\nmedical treatment at the Sanglah hospital.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sanglah-victim-identification-team-struggling-1447893297",
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