The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Dermot Ahern, visited a mortuary at Krabi in southern Thailand yesterday as part of his tour of areas affected by the St Stephen's Day tsunami and he met members of one of the Irish families affected by the disaster.
The number of Irish missing remains at three. They are Michael Murphy from Co Wexford; Lucy Coyle, from Killiney in Dublin; and Conor Keightley from Cookstown, Co Tyrone.
The Minister met members of Mr Keightley's family, who were in Krabi searching the mortuary. His sisters Michelle McCaughley and Darina Duffin, brother Damien Coyle and cousin Gavin O'Neill were also there. It was reported last night that they were told he may have been informally identified by Thai authorities in a mortuary. Bodies discovered on Phi-Phi, where Mr Keightley had been on holiday, are brought to the regional capital of Krabi for identification.
"The Keightley family, who lost their boy, say there is total devastation on Phi-Phi Island. They know that the issue of identification should be left to the experts but the visit has given them closure to a certain extent," Mr Ahern said during a briefing with Krabi governor Mr Arnont Promnart in the Krabi City Hall.
Three of the four Irish believed to have died in the disaster were on Phi-Phi during the tsunamis, including Eilís Finnegan, whose remains have been sent home.
Mr Dan Mulhall, Ireland's ambassador to Thailand and Malaysia, has spent many nights in Krabi helping with the search for Irish victims and offering support to their families.
Altogether in Krabi province, there are 784 people registered as missing and 284 have been identified.
During his visit Mr Ahern examined a wall of pictures of the missing and the unidentified dead, which includes terrible images of bodies and distinguishing body features, anything that might help put names to the bodies found so far.
"When you see what happens to the bodies, my heart goes out to them. We've seen photographs here of decomposed bodies. It's awful here for everyone," said the Minister.
Mr Kotaro Hara, head of the Japanese police forensic team working at the mortuary, said the process of identifying bodies could take a year and he said that, in some cases, retesting would be necessary.
Mr Ahern said gardaí would work with the Thai forensic efforts until the identities of the remaining missing victims have been discovered.
"The authorities here will continue to be in touch with the guards. The governor also assured me that in the event of identification taking place, the body would be repatriated as soon as possible," he said.
Mr Ahern said the Government was prepared to help the Thai authorities however it could and he praised the Thai efforts to rebuild after the disaster.
"We've seen some of the affected areas from the air and seen how some substantial buildings have been razed to the ground," Mr Ahern said. "We also saw hundreds lining up for compensation in the City Hall, so clearly that system is in place. We appreciate the assistance the Thais have given."