Blood and hair samples from relatives of the 22 people still missing after a ferry boat accident on August 2 on the Yangtze River in Hejiang County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, will be used to identify the victims.
This is the first time that DNA technology has been used in victim identification in Sichuan due to its high cost and complicated procedures, local sources said Tuesday.
A total of 15 legal medical experts are in charge of obtaining samples from the relatives and the samples will be matched with the DNA of the missing people after they are found.
After the accident 15 people were rescued and three were confirmed dead. A total of 40 people were on the ferry boat when the propeller failed and operational errors by the crew caused the tragedy.
(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2002)
