“One major part is beyond just post-mortem and dealing with the body parts, it is guiding our officers (on) how to engage the next-of-kin, understanding the situation at the same time, getting important information from them,” she said.
“(This is) so that … we can then at the back-end, match the post-mortem information to identify the individual.”
HSA has been working to develop new and better methods to address the issue of rapid decomposition, which posed a significant challenge for officials in 2004.
Recent breakthroughs have pointed to a traditional method showing new promise – preservation with salt.
“Salt is an extremely good preservative, and what we have done is a validation study to show that, whether it’s tissue, bone samples – all can be preserved in salt for well over two years,” said Dr Christopher Syn, group director for applied sciences at HSA.
APPLYING LESSONS LEARNT
The Singapore Red Cross said the lessons learnt during its relief efforts in 2004 profoundly influenced how it has been carrying out other missions.
Following Nepal’s earthquake in 2015, the humanitarian organisation collaborated with numerous partners, raising about S$13 million (US$9.6 million).
Those contributions funded over 40 rebuilding projects and played a key role in restoring the spirit of the people, it said.
