The worst job in the world: what is the person who removes the consequences of the crash

Robert Jensen has devoted his career to restore order after a disaster with casualties. The identification of the remains, taking care of the relatives of the victims and the recovery of personal property — Jensen managed to become the best in the worst profession in the world.

Jensen the darkest headlines in recent history — not just words. He worked with the bodies of the victims after the terrorist attack in 1995 in Oklahoma, was in the Pentagon after it fell on one of the planes in September 2001, and helped to find missing persons after hurricane Katrina.

He personally worked at many places of the incidents, looking for the remains of the victims and any abandoned items — documents, personal accessories, clothing, shoes. All that is found, is returned to the relatives. From personal experience, Jensen knows that when ends human life, even the smallest fragments of it can bring loved ones comfort.

Firm Jensen "international emergency assistance from the "Kenyon"" is used for dozens of accidents every year. In total, the company employs 27 people, but during a call you sometimes have to hire part — time employees in the event of a major disaster headquarters can grow to several hundred people. These are mainly people with experience in the area of security or forensics.

Often you need to conduct the present investigation to determine the relationship between the found object and its owner. Visible surveillance cameras at the airport and even record conversations — anything that will help find a lead. Once Jensen turned for help to the automaker to know the origin keys from the car found among the wreckage. Experts have found the keys to the series, and it turned out that the car was sold in Spain, so Jensen was able to narrow the search base and find the owner in the list of victims.

To identify personal objects is sometimes much harder than the bodies.

The hardest part of this job is communication with relatives and friends of the victims. Often it is necessary to be very explicit, not to give people false hope that their loved ones could survive. At other stages of work, to behave more delicately.

When airlines hire "Kenyon" for the organization of work at the crash site, the first thing Jensen gets in touch with a nearby hotel to arrange accommodation for relatives: relatives are always flying anywhere in the world to attend the identification and the first briefings in the hope to quickly get information about the victims.

Although I want to give people hope, Jensen is forced to speak a hard truth. First, he warns the audience that they will hear a very unpleasant so people can prepare to withdraw from the children's room.

"You have to understand what happened a high-speed collision — your loved ones do not look like you" is the first step, the most difficult realization, and it must be taken immediately. Then begins a discussion aid to identify the bodies and property.

At the stage of processing of the remains and property of the dead the most important is to provide the option to the relatives. If they would like to have the items cleared, and which delivery method suits them most?

Tact is very important here: when people experience tragedy, they experience despair and utter helplessness before fate, and even a small share of control over the circumstances, decisions about how to deal with subjects, indication of preferences, the choice of suitable time and method of communication — can help make it easier to transfer the incident.

At the crash site the team is working to clear the items from the fuel and anything that can cause further damage. Then the items are Packed and sent to the office in Bracknell, a small town in England near Heathrow airport.

Inside is the most common office — but here is the fact that most effectively and quickly to address the consequences of mass disasters. The office adjoins a hangar in which the stock items and the facility to parse things arrived. Among professional "gear" in the corner sets of body armor — in case you have to go to a war zone. In the office interns are working in photoshop to cut photos a personal subject and add a white background so the relatives will be easier to identify him in a special online catalogue.

All things are so "digitized". In the physical view of the warehouse they are stored for two years. Some ones prefer not to take personal belongings — don't want anything to remind them of the tragedy. Others want things delivered in the form in which they were found.

Sam Jensen has long been not a worry before travelling — it's pointless to spend your life to worry about death, because all the fault of the case. Every time I think about the danger in public places or transport, he realizes that nothing can predict how right you went. Jensen recalls one woman who died during the building explosion in Oklahoma. When they found her, on one foot she had a Shoe with a heel on the other Shoe. Jensen realized that she must have wore overshoes when the explosion occurred. Had it on for 5 minutes and still be alive.