Police Chief orders identity verification center in Hat Yai for flood victims

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2025

National Police Chief sets up an identity verification center in Hat Yai, deploying forensic teams to assist in confirming the identities of flood victims

Police Chief orders identity verification center in Hat Yai for flood victims

On November 27, 2025, Pol Gen Kitrat Panphet, the National Police Chief, issued an urgent order to establish an identity verification operations center in Hat Yai, Songkhla Province. He assigned Pol Gen Samran Nualma, Deputy National Police Chief, to oversee the operations to confirm the identities of deceased individuals found due to the flooding, whose identities have yet to be verified.

He also instructed Police General Hospital to organize a forensic medical team from its forensic medicine institute, providing the necessary tools and refrigerated transport. The Police Forensic Evidence Office was directed to send staff to assist the Songkhla Nakarin Hospital's forensic team urgently. This follows reports of many deaths, with over 20 individuals still requiring identity verification.

Additionally, he ordered the Commander of the 9th Provincial Police Bureau to urgently inform all personnel of the procedures and management process. From now on, efforts will focus on locating, assisting, reporting, and managing the area. Once bodies are found, no matter where they are located, they must be coordinated with various foundations to be transported to a designated location for proper storage, without waiting for autopsies at the scene. A system for managing the bodies at storage sites must be established, with refrigerated or mobile cooling units provided for body preservation.

The Incident Commander will oversee all steps, ensuring effective emergency response. This will include managing the process of receiving, storing, autopsying, conducting DNA tests from relatives, and verifying identities to expedite returning the bodies to families for proper rites as quickly as possible.