Published in Washington, D.C.
December 29, 2004
Corpses recovered from beaches
Identification hindered by sun, saltwater effects, lack of papers
By Richard S. Ehrlich
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Bloated corpses
yesterday floated off the coast
and littered beaches in
Thailand, where more than
1,500 people drowned, many of
them foreign tourists, and 1,000
disappeared in the Sunday tsunamis.
Rescuers tied ropes to stiff,
jutting legs and arms of drifting
bodies and yanked them onto
small boats, or waited until the
tide brought them to shallow
water, where groups of
grim-faced men lifted and
carried them away.
Many of the dead appeared
clad in swimming gear or
walking shorts and T-shirts,
their flesh burned by the
tropical sun and decaying in the
saltwater, but lacked
identification papers.
"What is terrible is that some
rescue officials dare not enter
in the spots following warnings
of aftershocks," Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra said.
"Some wounded people run
to hills and refuse to come
down for medical treatment
because they remain
frightened" of more tsunamis, he said.
"It's also
difficult to find victims in some
spots because communications
and transportation routes are
cut off."
Rescuers discovered
decomposing corpses strewn
along the granite-studded,
sandy beaches of Khao Lak,
about 60 miles from Phuket
island, and its estuaries,
mangroves and sea cliffs.
An estimated "60 percent of
the bodies were foreigners" at
Khao Lak, about 50 miles north
of the devastated Phuket island,
the British Broadcasting Corp.
reported yesterday.
Some of the dead hung from
trees after rising water
perched them in branches.
Babies and body parts were
discovered rotting in the sand.
Thailand's royal family
grieved the loss of the
monarch's grandson, Poom
Jensen, 21, who despite
suffering autism had been
water-skiing along Khao Lak's
shore when huge waves hit.
His body was found after a
frantic search. His four
palace-appointed bodyguards
survived.
The Health Ministry sent 20
refrigerated shipping
containers to the region to
collect and store hundreds of
decomposing bodies, amid hopes that they might
be identified by relatives, officials said.
People who were rescued yesterday along
Thailand's lengthy, ravaged west coast included
many whose lacerations and other injuries were
dangerously infected because they had gone
without medical treatment since the disaster.
Doctors amputated limbs too diseased or
crushed to save, after tsunamis slammed
people against walls, cars and other sharp
objects.
Other devastated coastal provinces include
Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang, Ranong and Satun -- all
famous for palm-fringed beaches and resort
facilities that ranged from five-star to dirt-cheap.
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Website and more Asia news by Richard S. Ehrlich at http://www.oocities.org/asia_correspondent/news.html