First Nation releases report on unmarked graves at Kamloops residential school

One of the experts who used a specialized radar to search the grounds of a former Indigenous residential school for signs of human graves says only a fraction of the area has been checked.

Sarah Beaulieu says just under one hectare of land has been surveyed and a further 65 hectares must still be checked at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School where as many as 215 unmarked graves have already been detected.

Beaulieu says the work began in the former school's apple orchard because that is where a child's rib bone and tooth were found.

Former students reported they were woken at night to dig graves in the same area.

The Tk'emlups First Nation held a news conference this morning to release details about the unmarked graves, which were announced in late May, and residential school survivors also made moving statements about the trauma and injury they suffered while attending the school.