Police Forensics Unit Tests DNA from Five Unidentified Virgo Ship Victims

Banjarmasin (ANTARA) — The National Police Forensics and Medical Centre (Pusdokkes) is still examining DNA samples from the bodies of five victims of the Virgo Transport 8 who have not yet been identified.

“The condition of the five bodies makes them very difficult to recognise, so DNA testing is the last resort,” said South Kalimantan Police’s head of medical affairs, Senior Commissioner Dr Much Sofwan, at Bhayangkara Hospital in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, on Monday.

He said that all ante-mortem reference data from the families had been collected, including DNA samples. However, Pusdokkes has yet to release the test results.

Sofwan urged the families to be patient while waiting for the results and said he hoped the identities of the five victims would be established soon.

He said the five bodies were the last still awaiting identification, as no new victims had been found in the past week. “If any more are found, we are ready to carry out further identification; the Disaster Victim Identification team remains on standby,” he said.

A total of 53 people from the Virgo vessel remain missing, out of 243 passengers and crew. Bhayangkara Hospital in Banjarmasin has received 82 bodies, of which 77 have been identified.