2 Utah firms helping identify tsunami victims

The massive tsunami that struck the coastlines of Thailand and 10 other countries on Dec. 26 left thousands of unidentified bodies in its wake.

Now, two Utah companies, using DNA analysis, are helping the Thai government identify some of the estimated 5,384 people who died in that country.

Salt Lake-based Sorenson Genomics, owned by Utah billionaire James LeVoy Sorenson , together with Park City-based Pacific Rim Consulting Group have collected and are analyzing hundreds of tissue samples. Those samples, flown to Salt Lake City, are being matched against DNA profiles of survivors unable to find their loved ones.

David Rockwood, president of Pacific Rim Consulting, said he knew he had to help after learning of the disaster.

"I knew that Sorenson Genomics had the technology to do quick DNA pairing matching," Rockwood said in a phone interview from Bangkok. "So we called the head of Thai forensics, Dr. Porntip Rojanasunan, and asked her if she could use this technology if it was donated, and she said, 'You bet.' The next day I grabbed 500 of the kits and 1,000 swabs and was on a plane, and 24 hours later I was in the DNA testing center in the morgue."

Rockwood joined University of Utah professor Don Pedersen, director of the U.'s physician assistant program, at Yan Yao, a Buddhist temple about 70 miles north of Phuket.

Together, the two had the distressing task of sifting through hundreds of corpses, extracting samples of scalp, muscle, teeth and bone.

"My driver threw up the first day," Rockwood said. "No matter how well prepared you are for it, when you walk out there it is quite a shocking sight. However, after that first hour or so, you start realizing that you are involved in a worthwhile work, that the identification of these bodies is important for family members. I have five kids, and it gets quite personal, and you just kind of bear down to the work that needs to be done."

Sorenson's DNA analysis will act as a backup, Pedersen said, with its results compared against DNA work by other teams. Sorenson Genomics has sent an additional 1,000 tissue kits and 2,000 swabs to Thailand.

The 1,500 tissue kits and 3,000 swabs, along with the DNA analysis, are valued at $1.5 million.

Every two days Rockwood takes the extracted tissue samples — along with mouth swabs of survivors — from the morgue in Yan Yao to Phuket, a two-hour drive. From there, Rockwood catches a plane to Bangkok, the location of the nearest FedEx office.

"The things you think are important just kind of seem to pale in comparison," Pedersen said. "How quickly things can change. That place was beautiful, and in an instant it was transformed into a war zone."