Swiftwater body recovery: evidence based considerations for practitioners

Abstract

Effective body recovery operations from the swiftwater environment require more than just good technical skills. Understanding a wide range of influencing factors from decomposition, management of affected families, to evidential processes is important to ensure a professional response is provided for. This article provides a synopsis of a range of factors that swiftwater body recovery personnel should be cognisant of; and introduces new approaches to on-site management structures and practical recovery techniques. A range of primarily open source references are used to allow recovery personnel to further their understanding of the key points covered.