Sanglah victim identification team struggling

Sanglah victim identification team struggling

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

One and a half months after the tragic Bali bombings, the
multinational identification team has so far been unable to
finish the identification process for the remaining dead. Despite
their best efforts and commitment to finishing their undeniably
grisly task, the team is encountering extreme difficulties in
identifying the remaining 36 heavily burned bodies of the total
185 known dead.

This figure does not take into account body parts and the
missing.

The head of the Forensic Division at Sanglah Central Hospital
in Bali, Dr. I Made Maker, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday that
the team was experiencing difficulty in matching the DNA from the
bodies with a name or a family, as the team has not found any
similarities with DNA traces drawn from the family members of the
victims.

"We must be meticulous and careful in matching up the DNA of
the victims. If we wrongfully identify victims, we could be sued
by the victim's family," said Maker.

The team has issued a call for all individuals who believe
they may have lost their relatives to provide the team with
samples of hair, traces of blood or even DNA from family members
to compare with the DNA of unidentified victims.

Maker said the team initiated DNA testing for all bodies a
month ago since most were heavily burned and could not be
identified with other methods of analysis such as dental records
and finger print matching.

"The condition of the unidentified bodies makes visual
identification virtually impossible, even determining whether the
victim is male or female. There are no traces of human forms left
in many cases," he said.

A single sample of DNA taken costs around Rp 8 million
(US$869). For the current identification process, the team needs
at least three DNA samples from families to match with the DNA
drawn from the bodies. The team, which is comprised of forensic
experts from Australia and Indonesia have now managed to record
the DNA of all unidentified bodies, but have not found matches
with the samples or relatives.

To slow the decaying process the bodies are currently being
stored in a special storage freezer container located behind the
morgue.

Maker said due to a lack of storage capacity and
infrastructure in the morgue, the hospital had to borrow the
container from a local businessman.

The maximum morgue capacity is eight bodies.

When the Post visited the morgue on Saturday, several
Australian morticians were seen doing their utmost to clean and
make-up the identified bodies prior to transport to Australia.

When asked how long it may take to find a match with the
remaining bodies, Maker said it would depend on the Australian
forensic team to complete their work as the Australian government
had asked the Bali provincial administration to refrain from
holding a mass burial for the victims.

However, Director of Services at the Sanglah Hospital Dr. I
Wayan Sutarga said if there was no progress in the identification
process of the bodies within a week, the administration would
seek consultation with the government of Australia, Japan and
other countries on the further disposition of the bodies.

Only two of 137 injured victims are still undergoing intensive
medical treatment at the Sanglah hospital.