Abstract
A mass disaster is a situation that involves criticality between the number of victims and resources, in terms of both men and means, present on the site of an event that is mostly unexpected and sudden. In the multidisciplinary teams that intervene, the role of forensic pathologists, who are responsible for the direction and coordination of post-mortem operations, is central, and must remain so. The authors report the case of an explosion of a pyrotechnic artifice factory, as a result of which numerous victims and injuries are recorded. So, the team completed the autopsies and created a protocol to obtain biological samples (bones, blood, teeth, muscles), while the forensic pathologists contacted the families of the alleged victims and each provided a blood sample that was collected for the DNA. The geneticist, using the method of gene extraction and amplification, obtained the DNA from each bone, tooth, and muscle of blood taken from the victims and then compared it with that extracted from the blood samples of the relatives; the electropherograms showed at least one allele for each genetic marker of the “Combined DNA Index System” in common between the victims and the families, thus allowing to establish the identity of all the subjects involved in the event. Having established the identity of all workers, it was possible to determine their whereabouts in the environment at the time of the location of fires and explosions. The results of the various forensic analyzes (autopsies, genetic investigations and even traumatological investigations) have allowed us to validate a scientific method useful in all mass disasters even when any type of anthropological or forensic dental research is difficult.
Highlights
The succession of natural catastrophic events, of terrorist attacks (11 September 2001 in New York, 11 March 2003 in Madrid and London, 13 November 2015 in Paris), air accidents and events related to the increasing frequency of use of industrial and military artifices, have determined the most urgent need to activate particular procedures aimed at solving problems of a medico-legal and pathological forensic nature [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]
In the multidisciplinary teams that intervene, the role of forensic pathologists, who are responsible for the direction and coordination of post-mortem operations, is central, and must remain so [15]
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Summary
The succession of natural catastrophic events (tsunamis and hurricanes), of terrorist attacks (11 September 2001 in New York, 11 March 2003 in Madrid and London, 13 November 2015 in Paris), air accidents and events related to the increasing frequency of use of industrial and military artifices, have determined the most urgent need to activate particular procedures aimed at solving problems of a medico-legal and pathological forensic nature [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. One of the most commonly accepted definitions is that a mass disaster is a situation that involves criticality between the number of victims and resources, in terms of both men and means, present on the site of the event which is mostly unexpected and sudden [13]. On this basis, it appears necessary that even forensic medicine should provide for an organization to deal with the aforementioned situations [14]. Tllhoewliansgt vdiicstciumssdioiend).fiTvheedsauysspaefctteerdthceauesxepsl,oisnioitnia, lalyt ,awn eorfef-tshiteemhoossptital (whi varied, withwpillosnsoibt iblietiedsesrcarnigbiendgifnrotmherfaonlldoowminagccdidisecnutsss,ioton)h.uTmhaensuersrpoercsteudp ctoaupsoess, iibnlietially, we terrorist atttahcekms, oespt vecairaileldy,gwivitehnpthoesssiobciliiatliecsornatnexgtinpgrefsreonmt arat nthdaotmtimacec.idents, to human errors up possible terrorist attacks, especially given the social context present at that time
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