More than four days have passed since the massive flow of debris from multiple landslides ripped through the Mundakkai and Chooralmala villages of Meppadi in Kerala’s Wayanad, killing hundreds and ravaging the villages. Data from the hospitals said the death toll has touched 215 as of 8 am on August 3, Saturday, though the media puts the count at 300. But rescue workers belonging to national and state disaster response forces continue to extricate victims’ bodies and body parts from the slush, strewn with large boulders and tree stumps.
According to official figures, up to 215 people have been confirmed dead so far and 143 body parts have been recovered. The postmortem examination of 212 bodies and 140 body parts have been completed. Special teams have been formed to collect and analyse DNA samples from body parts and that of dead bodies to identify the victims and match them to their nearest relatives.
Postmortem examinations are mostly being held at the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Meppadi, as well as the District Hospital in Nilambur in the nearby district of Malappuram. Several bodies and body parts were found in Nilambur. Up to 119 bodies have been handed over to relatives so far in Wayanad, in addition to the 29 bodies received from the Nilambur District Hospital. A total of 62 bodies and 87 body parts have also been handed over to the Wayanad district administration so far.
Many of the bodies and body parts are in a highly disfigured state, making it difficult for relatives to identify them. “There is a process to assess if each of these body parts belong to one or different individuals. We cannot consider each part as one death,” said Meghashree DR, District Collector of Wayanad.
Identification of bodies based on genetic samples is a time consuming process, but is considered essential to avoid bodies being wrongly claimed and ensuring monetary compensation. Currently, there are several bodies which have more than one claimant or are yet to be identified.
“Health department counts every body part separately. Only from DNA test results can we confirm this," said Veena George, Kerala minister for health.
Recently, four families from various religious backgrounds had staked claim to the body of a girl child which was found floating in Chaliyar river, a report in Manoramaonline said. All the families had lost their children and claimed the body as their own, leading to confusion and tension as one family took the body to a masjid for burial. A tense situation was defused after the intervention by people's representatives and the Chief Minister, who recommended a speedy DNA analysis.
Internationally, Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) is a laborious and complex process which requires compliance with standards and quality assurance of forensic tests. There are four phases for DVI. They include scene examination in the first phase, collection of post-mortem (PM) data including fingerprints, dental examination, DNA profiling, physical marks like tattoos, scars, or surgical implants in the second phase.
In the third phase, ante-mortem (AM) data is collected by interviewing close relatives and collecting DNA samples. A team of specialists then compares the AM and PM data in the final phase to ensure there is 100% match. The first DVI guide for mass fatalities was published by Interpol in 1984 and subsequently revised several times.
Kerala’s Health Minister Veena George and Wayanad Collector DR Meghashree told TNM that the severed parts can be added to the death count only after DNA results are out. News channels in Kerala have been reporting that more than 300 bodies have been recovered.
A police officer in Pothukallu in Malappuram told TNM that they are registering a first information report (FIR) for every body part found, considering them as individual dead bodies, which seems to have resulted in the media reporting a higher death toll. However, it is assumed that once the DNA tests are done, the toll will be around the same as is being reported.