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Wednesday, July 16, 2008
500 more bodies of ferry victims due in Cebu
CEBU CITY -- Forensic experts from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will appeal to the international community for help in identifying bodies that will be recovered from the sunken MV Princess of the Stars, which they said will be a tougher challenge for them.
NBI’s forensic team and the International Police (Interpol) will be wrapping up the extraction of DNA samples from the victims’ relatives at the action center this Friday to focus on preparations for the arrival and identification of some 500 bodies two months from now.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
Dr. Renato Bautista, chief of the NBI medico-legal division, said Tuesday that they are now preparing the equipment and manpower needed when the more than 500 bodies arrive after the refloating of the vessel.
The task that awaits them, he said, “will be like solving a jigsaw puzzle.”
He said that by then, they will be appealing for assistance from the international disaster victims identification (DVI) community.
The vessel will be refloated in two to three months.
It took the NBI and Interpol experts 12 days to process all the 206 bodies that were brought to Cebu City, from June 27 to July 10. They took a break last June 29 and July 6 to allow the relatives to view the bodies.
Of the 206 bodies processed as of last Monday, only 11 have been identified and claimed by their relatives.
The team has also taken DNA samples from 1,258 individuals who are related to the victims, and will take samples from 600 more until Friday.
Some 400 DNA samples have already been sent to Saravejo, Bosnia last Monday night through Federal Express for matching by DVI experts there. The team is also preparing to send bone samples.
Bautista said he and his 13-team members and eight Interpol officials will be here until all the bodies arrive and are processed.
Promise
“Until the end, we will all be here in Cebu, until we are done with the 500 or so bodies that will be pulled out from the vessel. It will take more time to process them because they will not be recognizable. It will be a longer process, more examinations on the different parts of the body,” Bautista told reporters Tuesday.
He explained that the bodies would be decapitated by this time, almost a month after the Sulpicio Lines Inc. vessel sank off Sibuyan Island in Romblon Province at the height of tropical storm Frank last June 21.
“The bodies will be decapitated, so we will have to take DNA samples from the skull. It’s like solving a jigsaw puzzle, but this time, with DNA. We will be needing the help of the international DVI community by then,” Bautista said.
DVI experts from Canada, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia have already agreed to help.
The NBI and Interpol experts briefed Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama Tuesday noon on the developments of the DNA sampling and the preparations for the arrival of the bodies.
Seven refrigerated container vans are already at the Cebu International Port (CIP), where the 500 bodies will be examined and processed.
But seven will not be enough, Bautista said, and he has requested for four more container vans.
They are also expecting the mobile morgue to arrive later this week, which was donated by the Norwegian Government.
“It will take more time that is why everything is being readied for the examinations that will be done at the CIP area, particularly the need for water supply and sewage,” Bautista added. (LCR of Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pangasinan. (July 16, 2008 issue)
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