Volunteers have been pulling scores of bodies from the rubble daily since the December 26 disaster, a grim task complicated by rapid decomposition in tropical temperatures.

The Red Cross earlier put a deadline of two months to collect the bodies but with the extent of the carnage still not yet fully known, those involved say it will take much longer.

"According to the information from the local Red Cross volunteers, the collection will go on for six months," Red Cross spokeswoman Yrsa Grune told

The lengthy collection process means uncertainty over the true death toll will continue. Indonesia's health ministry earlier Thursday revised downwards the number of people dead and missing to 231,300, highlighting the confusion.

Grune said the number of cadavers being collected on a daily basis had declined, but this was not because the number still unrecovered had been significantly reduced.

"We're down to about 70 a day now but this is really due to the fact that there are fewer people out there doing the work," she said.

"There are still bodies lying out on the ground waiting for recovery but the work is not just psychologically demanding, it requires a great physical effort as well, climbing over the ruins and moving through swamp and mud."

She said Red Cross volunteers would continue their involvement until the task was completed.

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