New technology to help identify bodies of 'unknown victims'

The Abu Dhabi Police have launched a new system that can be used in merging and identifying the data and records of unknown victims of 'disasters' and incidents.
Brigadier Suhail Saeed Al Khaili, director of central operations at the Abu Dhabi Police, said the UAE is the first country in the Mena region to obtain the system, which is a step forward in identifying the victims quickly. Police took to Instagram to announce the new technology.
According to the crisis and disaster management department, the system provides the ideal and accurate methods of dealing with the sensitive data that are collected after identifying the victims, with maximum security and without mistakes. Following the announcement, social workers across the UAE have hailed the system, and are hoping the same technology will be implemented in other emirates as well.
Social workers relieved
Several social workers involved in the identification and repatriation of mortal remains from the UAE called the introduction of the new system a progressive one that would immensely benefit expatriates, local police and families of victims. Bhupendra Kumar, national convener of Indian People's Forum in Abu Dhabi with projects in Dubai, said: "If implemented with coordination of the General Directorate of Residents and Foreigners Affairs, this will greatly help social workers and local police. It will also reduce the burden on morgues, where there are several bodies at a given time."
Naseer Vatanapally, a Dubai-based social worker who handles occasional 'disaster' cases in Abu Dhabi, said: "Something like this makes our work much easier. Not just the community volunteers, but also local authorities who struggle to locate next of kin of victims." Vatanapally said there have been times when social workers and diplomatic missions, without access to any documents, have had to wait for 15 to 20 days for a family to be notified of their loved one's death.
He quoted examples of the Dubai Eid bus crash where 17 passengers were killed. It took nearly three days to identify all victims. "This too was possible because there was a clear list providing the total number of passengers on the bus."
"If you remember the Al Quoz fire where bodies were totally charred in a fire, we had to wait 15 to 20 days for the identification of the bodies, till we got the DNA results," said Vatanapally. He also stated the recent example of the young Indian teen who died in a road accident in Qusais. "His parents thought he was missing and they found his remains in a morgue three days later." Advanced technology would help in early identification and put families searching for their loved ones out of their anguish, according to Vatanapally.
However, social workers also said there are several cases where the victims are in the UAE on visit visas. "Identifying mortal remains of individuals on visit visas is the toughest task. Many wouldn't have their passports with them," added Vatanapally.
Roop Sidhu, general secretary of the Indian Association in Ajman, said: "To me, this is a very good step. In a lot of cases, identification is not possible and bodies are placed in morgues for a long time. There are cases when we are not able to tell which nationality it is. I think we should welcome this new technology, as it is a very positive step."
Another Dubai-based social worker Girish Pant said: "I would like to thank the UAE authorities for introduction of this system. For years, it has been very difficult for the police and social workers to identify victims who are caught up in some severe accidents. I hope the same system will be introduced in police stations across the country as it streamlines a very complicated system."
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE
• Abu Dhabi

Dhanusha Gokulan

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com