PSNI team heads out for Tsunami relief effort

Local PSNI officers are to travel to Thailand to take part in an international relief operation in the aftermath of the Tsunami disaster.

Constable Sandy Boyd is one of eight officers from the PSNI who are going to the resort of Phuket to work as part of a Body Recovery and Identification Team (BRIT). This will be the first British police team to deploy into the region with full forensic support.

Although the Boxing Day tragedy has faded from public attention, around 3,000 bodies remain in makeshift mortuaries waiting to be identified and returned to relatives, both in Thailand and across the world.

Constable Boyd will work in Thailand for 17 days as part of the international operation to bring relief and closure to the stricken region, its inhabitants and tourists caught in the disaster.

He said: “I’ve been trained to do this type of work and now it’s time to put that training into practice. Colleagues have told me that it’s very humid and the hours are long, but it’s a necessary job.

“I’ll be involved in working with a range of experts who will use personal effects, fingerprint data, dental records and DNA samples to try to identify as many bodies as possible.”

The Police Service has deployed a number of officers to Thailand as part of the UK policing response to the disaster. Officers with the necessary skills and expertise are released from normal duties for short periods.

(MB)