Interpol report on Cebu
17/Feb/2009
INTERPOL's Philippines Disaster Victim Identification efforts with ICMP.In the aftermath of the Typhoon Frank ferry disaster in the Philippines on 21 June 2008 in which around 800 passengers lost their lives, INTERPOL has been a leading partner in national and international efforts to facilitate the dignified, efficient and accurate identification of the victims of the tragedy using sophisticated DNA technology.
Immediately after the disaster, INTERPOL deployed to Cebu City an Incident Response Team (IRT), including experts from the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), to assist with the disaster victim identification process. Sarajevo-based ICMP currently operates the world’s largest high-volume DNA human identification facility.
INTERPOL’s Incident Response Team, its National Central Bureau in Manila and headquarters in Lyon, along with the ICMP, local and national authorities in the Philippines, the humanitarian community and volunteers throughout the country are working around the clock to ensure the identification of the victims and the return of their remains to their families. The bodies of the first 10 DNA-assisted identified victims were released to their families on 17 August.
Page with photos and link to news reports and other materials: Interpol(Tags: cases, dvi, dna)