Review article: Tsunami 2004 - a review of one year of continuous forensic medical work for victim identification

Abstract

The Tsunami after the sea quake in Southeast Asia at the 26th of December 2004 represents one of the largest disasters in the modern World. Approximately 228,000 people from the countries surrounding the Indian Ocean have died. A large number of visitors from different European countries staying for their Christmas holidays in Thailand and Sri Lanka became victims of the natural disaster. The large number of foreign victims in these countries required additional forensic investigations which were organized by internationally working DVI (Disaster Victim Identification) teams. Victim identification was a great challenge due to the environmental conditions rapidly leading to heavily decomposed bodies. Thus the forensic medical investigations were very important to identify the victims. The different steps of forensic medical, odonto-stomatological and molecular genetic investigations beginning at the end of 2004 with the identification of a small number of victims and ending with the closing of the TTVI IMC (Thai Tsunami Victim Identification Information Management Center) in Phuket one year later are described and critically discussed. Up to 31 international DVI Teams worked in the TTVI IMC during 2005.

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