By around 5am on 16 April, the majority of those who died had been identified and transferred to the MLC. A decision was made that the remaining individuals, who had yet to be identified, would also be taken to the MLC and identified there. Operation Resolve has established that 17 of those who died were yet to be identified at that stage.
The same process was followed for identifications made at the MLC, but the layout of the building meant that the physical identification had to be done by looking through a window into a viewing area. Because the viewing area was only accessible through the mortuary and examination room, families were not permitted to go through it.
However, some families were not told this before the physical identification, so they were not expecting to be looking through a window and unable to touch or hold their loved one. Others did receive an explanation of the arrangements.
There were family members who went to the MLC simply to see their loved one, who had already been identified by a friend or another member of the family. Many of them were also not informed about what to expect and remembered it as extremely upsetting.
Other issues also recurred at the MLC, including families being questioned about alcohol consumption and officers treating them in an offhand or insensitive manner.
After the conclusion of the original Inquests, Dr Popper sent a letter dated 27 September 1991 to the Secretary of the Coroners' Society. In this, he summarised some of the issues that had been raised by relatives of those who died in relation to their experiences. While many of these related to the wider identification process, Dr Popper did highlight that the viewing arrangements at the MLC, which required families to stay behind the glass partition, had been unsuitable.
