Unidentified victims of tsunami buried in Thailand

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Source: CCTV.com | 12-07-2006 11:17

Over the past two months, Thailand has buried about 300 unidentified victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami almost two years ago.

On Wednesday, the last 110 were buried. The burial is expected to be finished early next week, in a cemetery not far from the beaches where victims died.

At the inter-religious ceremony, Buddhist monks, Muslim and Roman Catholic priests joined hands in presiding over the Wednesday burials.But burying these unidentified tsunami victims does not mean that they will be staying here forever.

Staff from the Thai Tsunami Victim Identification, or TTVI, put tags on the bodies and coffins, to ensure further investigation into their identities in the future.Wiwat Sidhisorudej, a TTVI officer, said:"In case if the relatives wanted to pick up the bodies in the future, then we could dig them out easily because we didn't bury them in the ground, but in a block of concrete."

Aluminum coffins have been interred in each concrete chamber cut into the sandy soil, not far from the beaches swept clean by tsunami almost two years ago.

Officials say the dead bodies are well protected, as the aluminum coffins and concrete chambers, capped by 500 kilograms of lids, are capable of preserving the bodies from the hot and humid climate.

And DNA samples and other evidence from each body would allow investigators to continue searching for identities.

Editor:Ji Xuewen