After the 2002 Bali Bombings killed 202 people, 88 of them Australian, Dr Pamela Craig was sent into the centre of the crisis.
As a forensic odontologist, her job was to help identify the victims, many burned beyond recognition.
In this episode, Pamela Craig takes host Liz Porter inside the high-stakes world of disaster victim identification (DVI) at the Bali mortuary.
Hear Dr Craig’s first-hand account of the Bali Bombings aftermath on Crime Insiders:
“They were armed soldiers all around the perimeter of the hotel. We couldn’t get out. We couldn’t go anywhere,” Craig said.
Craig and her fellow experts, including fingerprint experts, anatomists, and forensic anthropologists, had strict rules while staying in their hotel.
All rooms were on the second floor, no two rooms were adjoining, and they needed to change rooms every two days.
All phone calls and messages to loved ones were censored and vetted by the Australian Federal Police.
“What was your initial reaction when you were called and asked to go to Bali?” Crime Insiders: Forensics host Liz Porter asked.
“We worked in the Denpasar Hospital, and they were all in body bags in the courtyard of the hospital.
“It was quite unnerving in a way. But we were all there together… And anyway, we’re all tough. If you’re not tough, you don’t last.”
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