CRI听力:DNA Testing of Ship Victims to be Completed in Two Days

There are now 434 confirmed deaths from the capsizing of the Eastern Star on the Yangtze River, a week after the tragedy occurred.

As of Monday morning, when the bodies of two victims were recovered, eight people were still missing.

Local authorities say the identification of victims is expected to be completed in two days.

CRI's Huang Shan reports.

Chinese authorities are speeding up forensic analysis to identify the bodies retrieved.

Authorities say they have examined most of the bodies retrieved and collected blood samples of more than 430 relatives.

Relatives of the victims have rushed to the morgue to help with the identification.

Min Jianxiong, an associate counsel of the evidence identification center under China's Ministry of Public Security, illustrates the procedures of the DNA testing.

"We need to first collect samples from the victims' bodies that are qualified for DNA testing. And then we'll collect blood samples from their family members or relatives. We'll match their DNA to see whether they are genetically related."

Min says they also have alternative ways to conduct DNA matching when the victims' immediate relatives are not available.

"We have an important alternative measure. We'll go to the residences of the victims to collect their daily necessities so as to match their own DNA with the DNA samples from their bodies. These matching results are also very reliable."

At the moment, 145 specialized medical staff have been divided into 21 groups, and are working around the clock to collect and match the DNA of the victims.

Min details the progress of the DNA identification.

"We've organized over 100 specialized personnel who took less than 20 hours to complete the DNA examination of more than 300 victims. This is a huge workload for them to accomplish in a continuous way. The fast and highly-efficient handling shows our respect for victims."

Local authorities estimate the identification work will take another two days to be completed.

Following the matching process, the DNA testing results and personal belongings of the victims will be passed to their relatives.

Up to now, investigators have not yet reached a conclusion with regard to the cause of the disaster, while Chinese authorities have pledged transparency in the ongoing probe.

For CRI, I'm Huang Shan.