Thousands of people from all over the world lost their lives in the tsunami on 26th December, 2004. The task facing the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) teams in Thailand is the rapid, dignified and accurate identification of victims so that they can be returned to their loved ones.
   This co-ordinated effort by the international community will significantly speed up the victim recovery and identification process, enabling victims’ families to begin the healing process and societies to rebuild.
   However the scale of this disaster means that the Thai authorities, supported by Disaster Victim Identification teams from more than 30 countries, face a lengthy process in retrieving, analyzing and matching data in order to achieve this.
DVI teams are made up of specialists from a number of areas, including;

            • Scene of crime officers
            • Forensic pathologists
            • Forensic dentists
            • Fingerprint experts
            • DNA experts
            • Photographers

   All DVI teams at the mortuary sites are following established Interpol protocols to ensure a co-ordinated collection of evidence.
   Each victim is numbered and photographed - this number stays with the remains until the process of identification is complete. The victim is then examined by a forensic pathologist, who notes details such as height, birthmarks, tattoos, scars and any other distinct information to help with identification.
   Primary methods of gathering forensic evidence are fingerprinting, dental records and DNA sampling, although in some cases victims may have medical conditions such as a pacemaker or a hip replacement with a unique serial number which will help in identification.
   All the post mortem information gathered by the specialists at the sites is then sent to the Thai Tsunami Victim Identification Information Management Centre in Phuket where it is entered into a comprehensive database which has been created specifically to assist with the identification of victims.
   At the same time as the post-mortem data is being entered in Phuket, officers around the world are gathering ante-mortem data for the missing persons.
   The information gathered for the missing persons is the same as that taken for the post mortem – fingerprints, dental records and DNA.
   Fingerprints – in most cases, the only individuals to have their fingerprints on a government or police database are those with criminal records or residents in a country where a fingerprint is included on the national identity card. In order to obtain the fingerprints of people missing following the tsunami, which are not already in such a database, officers may visit their homes to check items which the person may have touched, for example, a glass of water beside the bed, CD cases, magazines or personal belongings in the bathroom.
   Dental records – most dentists now x-ray patients, and if not available, other records of work carried out, such as caps, bridges and fillings can be sent.
   DNA – again, very few people will have their DNA on file, however DNA gathered from close relatives will be able to help with the identification, and where this is not possible, samples can be taken from personal items such as hairbrushes from the victim’s home.
   Thousands of people from many countries lost their lives in the tsunami, and gathering the necessary data from around the world will be a time consuming process. All information gathered by national authorities is sent to the Thai Tsunami Victim Identification Information Management Centre (TTVI-IMC) in Phuket where it is entered into a parallel database to that containing the post mortem details. A system called PLASDATA then assists with the comparison between the ante and post mortem data to further enhance the matching process.
   If a match is made, the information is verified by experts at the TTVI-IMC to ensure it is correct, and the national authorities of the victim’s country are then informed.
   The family of the victim will then be contacted to inform them that an identification has been made, and the process to repatriate the body to whichever country can then begin.