Terror plans to use hangars as mortuaries

Extraordinary plans for dealing with thousands of corpses after a terrorist atrocity were today issued by the Government.

A chilling document published by Home Secretary David Blunkett spelled out the awful potential consequences of a massive attack on civilians.

Aircraft hangars would be turned into temporary mortuaries and refrigerated lorries could be commandeered to provide extra storage space.

Bereaved relat ives would be offered counselling to help them cope with the task of identification. They would be offered a space to pin up photos of missing family members as the hunt for bodies went on.

Much of the planning is based on the lessons learned from New York in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks three years ago in which almost 3,000 people died.

The 90-page paper from the Home Office was sent to town hall chiefs and NHS planners to advise them on the preparations they need to have in place.

But the document warns that in a "catastrophic scenario" even the most assiduous emergency plans could prove inadequate.

It says: "There will be potential for even these special arrangements to be overwhelmed. The capacity of mortuaries could be exceeded or there could be limitations on the availability of key specialist staff."

Duties for rescue workers would include locating human remains, photographing the scene for evidence and transferring bodies to a mortuary. The Government might have to arrange burials and cremations if the number of dead was too high for local services to cope with.

The guidance comes after criticism that the Government was not doing enough to explain what to do in an emergency.

The document applies to mass deaths from transport accidents, crowdrelated incidents and natural disasters, as well as terrorism.