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Six New Zealand Police disaster victim identification specialists are travelling to Victoria today to assist local police following devastating bushfires in southeast Australia.
They are due to arrive in Melbourne this evening and will then be deployed by Victoria Police.
The team will be working in a variety of roles, including the recovery of the victims, anti-mortem information retrieval, mortuary assistance and reconciliation.
They will initially be deployed for three weeks, although the work of identifying the victims of the bush fires is likely to take many months.
The team is led by Senior Sergeant Richard McPhail, of Invercargill, who was part of the New Zealand Police contingent sent to Thailand following the 2004 tsunami.
"In tragedies like this identification tends to be done through DNA, dental records and fingerprints," Mr McPhail said.
"It is meticulous work in difficult conditions. The identification process can take many weeks and it is vital we work accuratel y."
The DVI team was sent after an offer of help by Acting Police Commissioner Rob Pope was accepted by Victoria Police.
The New Zealand Police formed a national DVI Team in 2002 following the Bali bombings.
Team members have been deployed to Solomon Islands, Thailand and more recently two members went to France to assist in the recovery of the victims from the Air New Zealand Airbus crash.
On Friday 100 New Zealand firefighters will leave for Victoria to assist more than 4000 Australian firefighters and volunteers battle the blazes which have so far claimed at least 181 lives.
- NZPA
