INDONESIAN DVI TEAM STOPS IDENTIFICATE BODIES OF PLANE CRASH VICTIMS

Medan, 19 Ramadan 1436/6 July 2015 (MINA) – The Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) Team of the National Police, on Saturday, decided to stop the identification of bodies of passengers killed in the Hercules C-130 plane crash in Medan.

As many as 30 victims of the crash on Tuesday, June 30, have yet to be identified.

“The study of ante-mortem data and bodies will not be continued and was stopped today,” Head of Public Relations of the North Sumatra Provincial Police Senior Commissioner Helfi Assegaf said at H. Adam Malik Hospital in Medan on Saturday, Antara Agency reports as quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA).

The team will no longer analyze data on fingerprints and try to match dental records of the victims bodies, he added.

“However, the Disaster Victim Identification Team of the National Police will continue to conduct DNA tests on the bodies to identify them,” Assegaf affirmed.

The DNA tests will enable them to match blood types so the bodies can be identified, he explained.

“The DVI team will conduct DNA tests. Hopefully, we will be able to disclose the identities of the passengers who were victims of the plane crash,” Assegaf remarked.

He further noted that so far, the team has identified 116 of the 146 victims of the plane crash.

According to the manifest, there were 122 passengers on the flight, including 33 air force personnel, six army personnel, and 83 of their family members.

The Hercules C-130 plane of the Indonesian Air Force crashed in Medans Lieutenant General Djamin Ginting Street on Tuesday, June 30. The plane crashed into a traditional bathing place and two luxury houses.

Earlier, Chief of the National Defense Forces (TNI) General Moeldoko had stated that the investigation into the cause of the plane crash will take at least two weeks.

“The investigation team of the air force is still trying to find the cause of the crash, and it will take at least two weeks,” Moeldoko remarked here on Thursday.

He further noted that after the crash, Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Agus Supriatna had dispatched a team to the accident site immediately to probe the cause of the crash. (T/P010/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)