Identification of Tsunami Victims, Southeast Asia

On December 26, 2004, a tremendous earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale occurred under the sea near Southeast Asia. When the Australian and Eurasian tectonic plates under the Indian Ocean moved, a huge tidal wave was created that traveled thousands of kilometers across the ocean, causing a tsunami that devastated islands and coastal areas across the region. While the region is rebuilding after the physical destruction, teams of forensic scientists have taken on the immense task of identifying the victims of this tragedy.

The Southeast Asian tsunami is one of the largest natural disasters of modern times. The series of waves that emanated from the sub-oceanic earthquake off the shore of Sumatra claimed over 200,000 lives, as of February 2005, and the death toll continues to rise. In addition, thousands of people are still missing. Indonesia was the hardest hit and suffered the largest death toll. Also affected were regions of Sri Lanka, Southeast India and its Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Burma, and the Maldives. The devastation of the tsunami was far reaching; The Seychelle Islands as well as Tanzania, Kenya, and Somalia on the African mainland also suffered losses of life in the tragedy. In addition, because there are many tourist resorts in this region, the dead and missing include people from countries all over the world.

When the destruction was over, pictures of the missing were displayed at identification centers and family members gathered near the morgues, identification centers, and hospitals. Relatives of vacationers traveled to the region and assisted aid workers and the International Red Cross in their search for additional victims and wounded.

Identification of the tsunami victims is the largest forensic undertaking since the World Trade Center disaster of September 11, 2001. Over three years later, DNA profiles from the World Trade Center are still being analyzed, suggesting that the tsunami identification project will also continue for years.

After the tsunami, dead bodies lay strewn over beaches and required collection. Due to the force of the waves, dismembered body parts were also retrieved. Forensic specialists from all over the world rushed to Southeast Asia to assist with the task of identifying the victims, who were brought to makeshift morgues. Initially, physical identification was performed before the more complex task of using DNA. Corpses were photographed and compared to pictures displayed by friends and relatives. Physical characteristics such as hair or eye color, tattoos, and clothing were used initially to identify individuals. Dental x rays and fingerprints also proved useful. All of this information was recorded for each victim in makeshift, then organized, databases.

Once physical means of identification were exhausted, DNA samples were taken from the corpses for analysis. Identification of such a vast number of victims by forensic DNA analysis is a daunting task. Even though forensic companies and government agencies across the world are assisting with the process, the number of samples is overwhelming. Difficult samples of bone and skin often require multiple DNA extractions and analyses. Many of the dead were submerged in water then exposed to sun and heat while awaiting collection. High temperatures often degrade DNA, making it more difficult to analyze and requiring multiple attempts at extraction and amplification.

Each of the organizations assisting with identification and forensic analysis utilize their own protocols and methods. This also causes complications when trying to compare victim data from several different organizations. In a meeting shortly after the tsunami, Interpol (a global police information organization) requested that a standardized means of forensic analysis be used by the involved scientific teams. Furthermore, DNA profiles and other information are entered into a computer database to make identification faster and easier amongst the various worldwide sites where DNA analysis is taking place. Thus, standardized methods such as those of Interpol and the European Network for Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) are extremely useful during a crisis such as the tsunami.

Forensic scientists are also extracting DNA from personal effects, such as razors, toothbrushes, and hairbrushes, of the missing. DNA profiles generated from these samples will be used for a reference database. This database is then compared to the DNA profiles of those from victims in hopes of finding matches. In addition, relatives of the missing have given blood samples for DNA profiles. These can then be compared to the database of victim profiles to identify the victims based on the similarity of their DNA sequence to that of their parents, children, or siblings. In some cases, whole families were killed, requiring DNA profiles from more distant relatives to be used. While most identifications need about 10 DNA markers in the profile, up to 50 markers must be compared in these situations.

Automation of many of the steps of the DNA analysis is speeding up the identification process. Unidentified victims are buried in temporary graves and have been labeled with electronic chips that carry the information associated with the body that was obtained by forensic scientists. The use of forensic techniques has been instrumental in identifying the victims of the Southeast Asian tsunami, however, it will be years until the project is complete.

see also CODIS: Combined DNA Index System; DNA; DNA databanks; DNA fingerprint; DNA profiling; European Network of Forensic Science Institutes; Interpol; Odontology; September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks (forensic investigations of); Standardization of regulations; STR (short tandem repeat) analysis.