Friday 11 March 2011

Chief Coroner Judge Neil MacLean has expressed his admiration for all those involved in the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team at Burnham Military Camp and thanked them for their tireless efforts.

“Many of those who came to our side are now returning to their homes both in New Zealand and across the world.

“They have come from countries including Australia, Israel, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, Thailand and Korea and been part of an outstanding team operating in the most extreme and tragic of circumstances.

“Our efforts to return victims to their families will continue until we can do no more but I am extremely grateful to all those who have helped turn numbers into names with such dignity and respect,” Judge MacLean said.

As the majority of post-mortems have been carried out, the post-mortem part of the Burnham facility will be transferred to Christchurch Hospital this weekend.

However two more forensic anthropologists have joined the DVI team to assist with the most difficult of identifications and the ante-mortem area will continue to help reconcile evidence with details of missing persons.

ENDS

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