Hong Kong fire disaster brings victim ID unit’s grim task back into focus

More than 600 officers from the Hong Kong Police Force’s Disaster Victim Identification Unit (DVIU) searched two fire-ravaged blocks of the Wang Fuk Court residential complex in Tai Po without finding any more bodies on Saturday.

The death toll from the blaze remains at 128, but 150 people are still unaccounted for.

Dressed in white full-body protective gear, the DVIU officers went through Wang Yan House and Wang Tao House and collected evidence to confirm the identities of victims. No bodies were found, although several pets were rescued.

For some of the officers, the operation was just the latest in a series of far-too-close encounters with tragedy in recent years. It also again brought the DVIU into the public spotlight.

The team, which has about 640 officers, was set up in 1975 after two deadly landslides in 1972. The Sau Mau Ping landslide in Kwun Tong claimed 71 lives while one on Po Shan Road in Mid-Levels resulted in 67 fatalities.

Victims identification unit enters Tai Po fire site

Victims identification unit enters Tai Po fire site

The incidents made the government realise the need for police to have a professional team to deal with disasters involving a large number of casualties to ensure remains can be identified quickly, accurately and humanely, and to provide evidence for investigations.