May be months before all quake victims identified

China USAR members assist New Zealand USAR members as they slowly search through the rubble of the CTV Building in the days following a 6.3-magnitude earthquake that hit Christchurch. Photo / Dean Purcell

It may be months before all the victims of the Christchurch earthquake are identified, police say.

More than 240 staff are working to identify the victims of the February 22 quake, including disaster victim identification (DVI) teams from Australia, the United Kingdom, Thailand and China.

Police have named 26 people who died in the magnitude 6.3 earthquake, and warn that the final death toll will be greater than the 166 bodies found so far.

"We are acutely aware that families want their loved ones returned, particularly our guests from overseas, and our teams are working flat out to achieve this," Superintendent Sam Hoyle said.

"However international experience from events such as the Boxing Day Tsunami and the Victoria bush fires has shown it can be months before all identities are confirmed."

In rare cases, it has taken years to identify all the victims of major disasters.

Matching DNA took time, and it was vital to ensure identifications were accurate, Mr Hoyle said.

Visual identification by a friend or relative was not conclusive as people trying to make an identification were often highly stressed and mistakes occurred. Injuries could also make visual identification difficult.

"This is painstaking, exacting work and the reality is very different from how it looks in television programmes such as CSI.

"We are following international best practice standards and have some of the most experienced DVI specialists in the world working with us."

Police asked for patience and understanding while the large team worked through the difficult and complex job.

Human remains were examined where they were found before being taken to a mortuary, where they were examined in detail by a pathologist, forensic dentist, fingerprint officer and police DVI team member.

Police also gathered information about victims such as descriptions of appearance, medical and dental records, and DNA samples.

Evidence of an identification match is presented to the Identification Board, chaired by the coroner.

- NZPA