Computer programme helps identify tsunami disaster victims
About 20 forensic teams from around the world are quickly learning to use a computer programme that could help identify victims of last week’s tsunami in seconds.
With more than 200 forensic experts in Thailand rushing to identify thousands of bodies, the DVI (disaster victim identification) System International programme allows users to log data ranging from DNA and teeth structure to eye colour and body markings, such as tattoos.
The information can be compared with data about people from before they went missing – hair samples for DNA testing, physical descriptions and dental records.
“Our system is able to find out who’s who,” said Claus Hoffenblad, development manager of the Holbaek, Denmark-based Plass Data Software. “You have information on both sides, what you have found and what you are missing.”
Forensic experts working in Thailand at Buddhist temples temporarily turned into morgues are using the software, as well as those in Sri Lanka. It’s also been used to identify victims of the Bali bombings and several plane crashes.
Plass developed the programme with police in Norway and Denmark. It’s based on Interpol’s recommendations for identifying disaster victims.
Forensic experts, such as dentists, doctors and detectives, perform autopsies on the unidentified dead, filling out a lengthy form created by Interpol that seeks information as detailed as nose shape, length of fingernails and if the victim was wearing a digital watch.
Once the data is entered, the expert can decide how to search for matches, based on some general information, the detailed autopsy or a unique trait that makes a victim distinctive.
The system can give information in a few seconds if a person has a “very special” trait, said Dorte Hougaard, one of two Plass representatives in Thailand installing the software and training new users.
“There are lots of people with brown hair and brown eyes, for instance … but I know that they try to find the most special things, what gives meaning,” Hougaard said.
The programme, which narrows the possible matches, should save a lot of time compared with doing all of the work manually, she said.
Once experts have found a possible match, they do their own formal identification.
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