It's a grim routine that began after the great waves hit December 26, sweeping away thousands of people. But nearly two months later, only 450 of the estimated 3,000 foreign victims have been identified, and criticism is mounting over the slow pace of the work. ``I'm no nearer to finding my wife,'' said Kevin Quinn, 37, of Dublin, who was vacationing with his wife, Rachel, at Khao Lak when the tsunami struck. ``It's a bit appalling, really.''

In Thailand, more than 5,000 people are confirmed dead from the tsunami, which has left close to a quarter of a million people dead and missing from 11 nations. Rachel Quinn is among nearly 3,000 still listed as missing.

Some of the dead were beachgoers who carried no identification, and some bodies were badly decomposed before being found. In other cases, bureaucratic mix-ups caused delays.

In Quinn's case, authorities back home initially failed to send her fingerprints, dental records and DNA samples to Thailand. Then, her husband said, mis-steps by Thai forensics workers stalled the process further.

Nick Bracken, a London detective who is heading the Interpol-coordinated Phuket ID center, said the process is taking so long because of its unprecedented scale and the painstaking work required to ensure accuracy.

``The last thing we would want is, in a year's time, a wrong identification is proved and people then living through this nightmare forever,'' he said.

At the Disaster Victim Identification Information Management Center on Phuket, Thai officials stamp forms as foreign diplomats stand by to receive death certificates for their citizens.

About 2,500 corpses are still stored in refrigerated containers in Phuket and nearby provinces. Some bodies were taken out of the country immediately after the tsunami.

The number of bodies identified daily has jumped from about four in mid-January to 20-30 in the past week. The highest number was on February 16, when 43 corpses were identified. Thai police, who have the ultimate authority over the process, say most foreign corpses will be identified within four months.

Sweden, with 215 confirmed dead and 335 missing, and Germany, with 80 dead and 537 missing, have the highest tolls of foreign victims in Thailand. Nine other nations each have scores of dead or missing.

Some European nations have complained that it's taking too long to return the bodies of their citizens. There are three internationally accepted ways to identify bodies: DNA, dental records and fingerprints. Some critics have complained that officials in Thailand have been too slow to work with DNA.

ASSOCIATED PRESS