Britain said on Thursday it would issue death certificates for people presumed dead in the Asian tsunami but whose bodies have not been found, a move aimed at averting years of legal limbo for relatives. Fifty-three Britons have been confirmed dead in the giant waves of December 26, another 203 are missing presumed dead and a further 346 are unaccounted for, the government says.
The bodies of many of the dead may never be recovered or identified. In many cases, relatives faced a seven-year wait before death certificates could be issued if no body was found.
"We've agreed as a response to the exceptional circumstances we face that the Foreign Office at the request of families will issue death certificates for missing British nationals where no body has been found, based on evidence provided by the British police," said Foreign Office minister Douglas Alexander.
Four criteria must be met before certificates are issued.
Evidence must exist beyond reasonable doubt that the person travelled to the affected region and was there at the time.
There must be no reasonable evidence of life since December 26 - for example mobile telephone or bank account activity - and relatives must prove, on the balance of probability, that the person had no reason to want to disappear, Alexander said.