Police say the grim task of identifying victims of the Christmas Island boat tragedy will be long and complex.
Twenty officers have been sent from Perth to assist with the coronial investigation.
Seventeen bodies have been recovered and are being stored in a makeshift morgue on the island while about 70 people remain unaccounted for.
WA Police are identifying the dead on behalf of the coroner and Deputy Commissioner Chris Dawson says it is likely to take at least two weeks.
"Dealing with tragedy and a major loss of life is not easy for any individual to deal with," he said.
"What I can say is that the agencies are working very closely together and West Australian police are just part of a national effort that's taking place."
A total of 110 asylum seekers were rescued and transferred to a high security detention facility on the island.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority says all of the survivors were rescued on the night of the disaster and the majority were already wearing life jackets when the merchant vessels and navy ships arrived.
AMSA has since been revealed there were unused life jackets seen floating in the water, meaning more asylum seekers could have survived the tragedy.
Mr Dawson says police are interviewing the survivors.
"Part of the investigation requires the use of interpreters and interviewing those 110 survivors," he said.
"That again is a very long but necessary process to make sure that the state coroner is fully informed as to the circumstances as to how people lost their lives."
Monday 25 June 2012
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/australian-news/14033958/identification-of-boat-victims-long-and-complex/
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