| Sue Black, head of the university’s anatomy and forensic anthropology department, is featured in a TV documentary tomorrow about her time in Sri Lanka and Thailand helping to identify the dead after the Boxing Day tsunami.
Just days after the tsunami, Professor Black was at the heart of the stricken area, working in appalling conditions.
She was among a team of experts from America, Australia, Britain and Singapore.
She said the New Orleans disaster was “scarily similar” to the tsunami.
“It’s a scarily similar situation. There are a large number of dead bodies and a lot of water in an area of extreme heat.
“It’s the natural and proper order of things to deal with survivors and injured people first, as we can no longer help the deceased.
“However, the longer we wait, the more difficult it becomes to identify the victims. I think most of the identifications will be made through dental records and DNA.
“The recovery teams are very much working in the dark. As always, the number of presumed dead is usually larger than the actual number.”
Professor Black said the task of identifying victims in Asia was ongoing, and would probably carry on in full swing until December.
“After that time, it will tend to be parts of bodies that are found,” she said.
“With the situation in New Orleans, it could well be the same. Unfortunately, we have had the training ground of the tsunami for this.
“It’s very important for survivors that the victims are identified, otherwise it can be very difficult to deal with and move on.”
The Horizon documentary, at 9 pm on BBC 2 tomorrow, focuses on various aspects of the tsunami aftermath.
Professor Black added, “It’s taking a wide view of the problems we faced. There were over 170,000 people killed and over 30 different countries involved.” |
