Federal officials defend body-recovery efforts

[sabra]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N14358099.htm

Federal officials defend body-recovery efforts

BATON ROUGE, La., Sept 14 (Reuters) - Federal officials on Wednesday defended their efforts to recover bodies in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina after Louisiana's governor complained the work was going too slowly and signed a contract with a private recovery company.

"This is a sensitive process," Vice Adm. Thad Allen of the U.S. Coast Guard, the federal official in charge of the Hurricane Katrina recovery, told a news conference. "We are mindful of the dignity needed to be afforded each individual."

He said he spoke by telephone on Tuesday with Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco after she criticized the federal efforts to recover bodies in flooded New Orleans and said she signed a contract with a private company to speed the process.

The state of Louisiana will pay Kenyon International Emergency Services almost $119,000 a day for two months for the job of recovering, documenting and handling the bodies of the victims of Hurricane Katrina, according to documents released by the state.

[librechik]

1. Oh shut up!

I think we know what to expect from the Feds now. Please spare us the stupid excuses.