NBI-DVID team to assist in Myanmar quake victim ID

A team from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Disaster Victim Identification Division (NBI-DVID) is traveling to Mandalay, Myanmar, to assist in identifying earthquake fatalities and locating four missing Filipinos.

The NBI-DVID team will secure tissue samples from unidentified remains recovered from the collapsed Sky Villa condominium before cremation.

Samples will also be collected from the families of the missing Filipinos in Manila to confirm identities.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported that most retrieved bodies were in advanced stages of decomposition and had been cremated due to lack of cold storage facilities.

Urban search and rescue teams from Myanmar, Vietnam, Russia, and China have been assigned to the Sky Villa site.

The deployment of the Philippine humanitarian contingent depends on directives from Myanmar authorities.