Stench of decay fills the air in temple of death

THE bodies are laid out, one to a table, as the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) teams set about their work in Krabi’s makeshift morgue.

On the ground bodybags lie zipped up and waiting for removal, while all about is the smell of death and decay.

The morgue, in a Buddhist temple, is busy. Many of the victims from Phi Phi Island have been brought here, as teams of pathologists from 25 countries set about reconstructing people's identities from what remains of their bodies. Each national DVI unit has a differently- coloured smock.