Embassies to help ID victims
The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali
The Indonesian government has been working closely with the embassies of foreign countries whose citizens fell victim to last week's blast as it has become clear that the Bali provincial administration is overwhelmed by the grim task of identifying the remains of the victims.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty Natalegawa said here on Friday that the countries whose citizens were killed in the blast had yet to reach an agreement on how to deal with the remaining bodies.
"We are therefore continuing to consult with the ambassadors of the foreign countries to coordinate efforts to deal with the bodies," Marty was quoted by Antara as saying.
The foreign embassies had not yet decided whether to bury the bodies in Indonesia or send them home, Marty said, adding that the uncertainty regarding the bodies was related to several factors, including the identification process and the investigation into the blast itself.
"We are hoping to find the right solution considering that the bodies cannot be kept for too long," said Marty.
Meanwhile, Bali provincial administration spokesman I Gde Nurjaya said his administration had been overwhelmed by the task of identifying the remains of the victims of last Saturday's blast.
Nurjaya said the administration could not just bury the remains without the consent of the victims' families or their governments.
As of Friday, the official number of victims from the blast stood at 507. Of this number, 186 were confirmed dead with 42 having been identified. The dead hailed from Britain (9), Indonesia (10), Australia (12), Singapore (3), New Zealand (2), USA (2), France (1), Germany (1), Equador (1) and South Korea (1).
Meanwhile, officials said the number of people killed in the Bali terrorist bomb attack far exceeded the official death toll of 186.
Many of the bodies recovered from the blast and the ensuing inferno that completely destroyed the Sari Club and Paddy's bar in Kuta were charred beyond recognition or blown to pieces.
Forensic experts believe the bodies of some of the people in the bars could have been totally immolated by the intense heat of the flames and the identification process could take months.
"The death toll is sure to be higher but it is so difficult to establish a precise figure," an official from the Sanglah General Hospital in Denpasar said as quoted by AFP.
The hospital's morgue is full of charred bodies and body parts.
A local woman died of burns late on Wednesday, bringing the known death toll to 186 -- 183 of whom died in Indonesia and three after being transferred to Australia.
Meanwhile, the first body of an Australian killed in the bombing has been positively identified and will be flown home to the southern city of Adelaide this weekend, a report said Friday.
The remains of Angela Golotta were positively identified by Australian forensic specialists working with the bodies of approximately 180 bombing victims, many charred or mangled beyond recognition after the blast last Saturday, AFP said, quoting a report from ABC radio.
ABC said the body of Golotta, who would have turned 20 on Thursday, would be flown to Adelaide on Saturday.
Golotta's two uncles have been increasingly outspoken in their frustration over the lack of progress in identifying the bodies, about 114 of whom are believed to be Australians.
On Friday, they appealed directly to Prime Minister John Howard, visiting the scene of the blast, to speed up the process, although police experts said it would take several weeks to identify the victims using DNA testing and other scientific means.
Bali is also treating the remaining 32 out of the total 323 people wounded in the blast. Twenty-nine of the patients are Indonesians, according to data released by the crisis center. They are being treated in the Sanglah General Hospital (25), Budi Raharja Hospital (1), Kasih Ibu Hospital (1), Darma Husada Hospital (1), Prima Medika Hospital (2) and Graha Asih Hospital (1).