An international team of forensic experts, country liaison officers and Interpol are currently investigating tsunami mass graves around Sri Lanka, gathering DNA evidence and checking them against available records in an effort to locate the estimated 35 foreigners still missing after the disaster.

So far, the remains of some 20 foreigners have been exhumed from mass graves and identified through the usage of medical records or DNA testing. Most of these bodies have been repatriated. Among the foreigners still missing are nationals from France, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, Egypt and Sweden.

Meanwhile, there are no immediate plans by the government to introduce a similar process of identification for thousands of missing or unidentified Sri Lankan victims. A senior police official said that the scope of such an operation would be too large and complicated.

"It would require mass exhumations," he explained. "The government would have to decide at a policy level whether they want to start the process for Sri Lankans."

The International Disaster Victim Identification (IDVI) team is based at the Galadari Hotel in Colombo. It comprises representatives from the governments of Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom. A four-member Interpol group joined them on January 15 and is currently running the Information Management Centre (IMC).

Each country provides ante mortem information about the missing person to the Interpol team. Interpol uses a special data software called PLASSDATA for identification — they enter the ante mortem information into the system and compare it against post mortem information as it becomes available. Matches between the two will help establish identity.

Rajesh Ranjan, leader of the Interpol team, said that most bodies are not in a condition to be fingerprinted. Experts have relied on dental records or DNA samples for identification. Exhumations are done on marked gravesites thought to contain foreign nationals. These are located by country DVI teams who make daily visits to areas affected by the tsunami.

Meanwhile, the Interpol team has also helped install secure global communications system called I-24/7 at the Sri Lanka Police Department’s Interpol branch. The encrypted internet-based communications system will help local police log in and obtain important Interpol information on international crime and criminals.