Tuesday, August 19, 2008 All bodies from sunken ferry to be identified, ICMP assures
FAMILIES still waiting for their loved ones to be identified can take comfort in the assurance that the chances of finding them are high, an official said.
The bodies of 10 who died in the Princess of the Stars accident were released Sunday in Cebu City, ending their relatives’ wait, which lasted over eight weeks.
Kathryne Bomberger, director general of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), assured they are doing everything they can to identify the victims, so their families can bring them home.
“This is definitely a priority. We do not want to have these people wait. We are moving as quickly as possible,” Bomberger told Sun.Star Cebu.
Bomberger explained that majority of their DNA specialists at their headquarters in Sarajevo, Bosnia are working round the clock on the case.
“We have total of 170 staff members, with around 100 DNA staff. But the majority of the DNA staff are currently working full-time to make this happen,” said Bomberger.
Bomberger is optimistic that most bodies from the mv Princess of the Stars, which sank off Romblon, will be identified.
Because the authorities know that the bodies are from the vessel and since most families have come forward to have their blood samples drawn, the chances of identifying the bodies are high.
“What I am concerned about are the persons missing from the other vessels as a consequence of typhoon Frank,” added Bomberger.
Apart from the Princess of the Stars, smaller vessels sank when typhoon Frank crossed Philippine territory last June 21.
“There is not much information about bodies recovered from other ships or families who reported missing persons from those ships,” said Bomberger.
The ICMP and Interpol hope that more families whose loved ones went missing during typhoon Frank will come forward and have their DNA samples taken.
“We hope for other families of the victims who were not on the ferry to come to us. If they would like to come forward and give reference samples, we would encourage them to do so,” said Bomberger.
Another concern is how the bodies trapped inside the ferry might be affected, if a pesticide cargo leaks from the Stars before it can be refloated.
Despite these uncertainties, Bomberger assured that majority of the bodies can be identified. (EPB)
