Hostel fire in Childers, Queensland- Formal Identification Process

The Department of Foreign Affairs stated today that the Disaster Victims Identification Squad in Brisbane is in regular contact with the Embassy in Canberra and with members of the family in Australia of Ms. Julie O'Keeffe whose remains are presumed to be among those removed from the hostel in Childers, Queensland where a fire occurred on 23 June 2000. The Disaster Victims Identification Squad informed the Embassy today that no formal identification of the remains of any of the victims has yet taken place and that they are not yet in a position to say when the identification process will be finalised and the remains released to the families.Top