Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India; Department of Forensic Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Department of Anthropology, (UGC Centre of Advanced Study), Panjab University, Sector-14, Chandigarh, India.
Forensic Sci Int. 2020 Aug;313:110339. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2020.110339. Epub 2020 May 14.
The Gorkha Earthquake hit the region on 25th of April 2015, at 12:58, with the epicentre approximately 80 km N-NW of Kathmandu, recording 7.8 M on the Richter Scale. The disaster left almost 9000 individuals dead. The search and recovery as well as the subsequent Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) operations left much to be desired. The entire DVI operations consisted of examination of 365 bodies and collection of 15 blood/hair samples and 60 bone/tooth samples. This resulted in the scientific identification of eight individuals and visual recognition of 357. The scientific basis of identification of more than 8000 individuals, remains a question. The Disaster Response was hampered by miscommunication, incoordination and mismanagement on the part of all stakeholders and could have led to misidentification as well as missed identification. This demonstrates the importance of systematic management of dead bodies in mass casualty events to ensure dignity and respect of the deceased as well as family members. The helplessness felt by technical experts was compounded by the general lack of political will and the pressure on the law enforcement for quick disposal, irrespective of the available standards and protocols. Therefore, DVI operations can only be assumed to be a disaster in the making, when faced with lack of political will, lack of strict adherence to international standards as well as lack of determination from all stakeholders. Such a response from authorities is usually driven by panic following mass fatalities especially in disasters of great magnitude, like this one. The article discusses the challenges faced by the technical experts in the field and describes the advancements as well as recommendations for further improving the DVI operations in a resource-stricken country.
2015 年 4 月 25 日 12 时 58 分，尼泊尔发生了 7.8 级地震，震中位于加德满都西北偏北约 80 公里处，约 9000 人遇难。搜救和随后的灾难遇难者识别（DVI）工作存在诸多不足之处。整个 DVI 工作包括对 365 具遗体进行检查，并采集了 15 份血液/头发样本和 60 份骨骼/牙齿样本。这导致了 8 人的科学识别和 357 人的目视识别。8000 多人的科学识别依据仍然是一个问题。灾难反应受到了所有利益相关者之间沟通不畅、协调不力和管理不善的阻碍，可能导致身份错误识别和漏识别。这表明在大规模伤亡事件中，对尸体进行系统管理对于确保死者的尊严和尊重以及家属的权益至关重要。技术专家的无奈感因缺乏政治意愿以及执法部门为了快速处理而不顾现有标准和协议的压力而加剧。因此，当缺乏政治意愿、缺乏严格遵守国际标准以及缺乏所有利益相关者的决心时，可以假设 DVI 工作只会造成灾难。当局的这种反应通常是由大规模伤亡事件引发的恐慌所驱动的，尤其是在像这样规模的灾难中。本文讨论了现场技术专家面临的挑战，并描述了在资源匮乏的国家进一步改进 DVI 工作的进展和建议。
