Managing the identification of the mortal victims run over by a train in the Castelldefels railway accident (Barcelona)

Role of forensic odontology in the identification of victims of major mass disasters across the world: A systematic review

“…Of the included disasters (20), 12 (57.14%) were accidental [ 8 , 11 – 14 , 16 , 20 – 24 ], 5 (23.80%) were natural [ 6 , 15 , 18 , 19 , 25 ] and 3 (19.04%) were criminal [ 9 , 10 , 17 ]. The twelve accidental MDs included airplane crashes [ 12 – 15 , 16 , 20 , 21 , 24 ] (n = 7; 23.80%), ferry accidents [ 8 , 11 ] (n = 2; 9.52%), train accidents [ 12 , 23 ] (n = 2; 9.52%) and a vehicle accident [ 22 ] (n = 1; 4.76%). Of the 5 natural MDs, 2 (9.52%) were bushfires [ 5 , 16 ], 2 (9.52%) were tsunamis [ 15 , 25 ] and 1 (4.76%) was an earthquake [ 19 ].…”

“…Of the 5 natural MDs, 2 (9.52%) were bushfires [ 5 , 16 ], 2 (9.52%) were tsunamis [ 15 , 25 ] and 1 (4.76%) was an earthquake [ 19 ]. Ten MDs (52.38%) were in Europe (Croatia [ 9 , 10 , 12 ], 4; Estonia [ 11 ], 1; France [ 13 ], 1; Germany [ 22 ], 1; Spain [ 17 , 23 ], 2; and Norway [ 8 ],1), 4 (19.04%) were in Asia (one each in Nepal [ 14 ], Thailand [ 15 ], Indonesia [ 16 ] and Japan [ 25 ]), 2 (9.52%) were in Australia [ 7 , 18 ], 2 (9.52%) were in the USA [ 20 , 21 ] and 1 (4.76%) each was in Africa (Nigeria) [ 24 ] and New Zealand [ 19 ].…”

“…Of the included MDs, the greatest number of victims was associated with the Japan tsunami [ 25 ] (15892), followed by the Thailand tsunami [ 15 ] (4280) and the Estonia ferry disaster [ 11 ] (852). The Germany vehicle accident [ 22 ] (8), the Barcelona train accident [ 23 ] (12) and the Nepal airplane crash [ 14 ] (18) were associated with the lowest numbers of victims. The details of the victim identification for the Norway ferry disaster were not available [ 8 ].…”

“…A total of 23654 victims were reported from 20 MDs, of which 20569 victims (86.95%) were positively identified. All victims (100%) were identified in the Spain terrorist attack [ 15 ], the Newark air crash [ 21 ], the Barcelona train accident [ 23 ] and the Germany vehicle accident [ 22 ]. The greatest number of victims was identified from the Australian bushfire of 2009 [ 18 ] (172; 99.42%), followed by the Japan tsunami [ 25 ] (15736; 99.01%), the New Zealand earthquake [ 19 ] (177; 97.79%), the France air crash [ 13 ] (85; 97.7%), the Nigeria air crash [ 24 ] (148; 97.36%) and the Croatia air crash [ 12 ] (166; 94.31%).…”

Primary Identification Methods and their Effectiveness in Mass Disaster Situations: A Literature Review

“…DNA analysis techniques are also used in combination with other techniques used in the identification of disaster victims, mainly when attempting to identify a severely mutilated body [2]. In a case in Barcelona, 12 victims died, and 11 (92%) were successfully identified with a combination of DNA analysis and fingerprints [17]. death must be obtained.…”