MASS DISASTER VICTIM

IDENTIFICATION
BY
ANGELIE OROPILLA, MD
Disaster

occurrence of widespread severe damage injury or loss of life or

property, with which a community cannot cope and during which the
affected society undergoes severe disruption
MASS DISASTER VICTIM
IDENTIFICATION
Procedures to properly, accurately and scientifically identify the
deceased victims of a multiple fatality incident for medico-legal
purposes.
OBJECTIVES
Identify disaster victims using reliable scientific
methods.
Determine the cause, manner and mechanism of
death
Recover and document clothes and personal
effects of the deceased
Recover and document possible evidence of
criminal activity from the body of the victim that
will aid in the investigation of incidents, whether
civil or criminal in nature, in which the
Government/ public may be interested.
LEGAL BASIS
MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (2001)
DOH A. O. # 2007-0018
MANAGEMENT OF THE DEAD & MISSING
NDRRMC ACT OF 2010
MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (2011)
NBI / PNP LAWS
PD 856
 Management of the Dead, the Missing, and the Bereaved Families

DOH

Assistance to
Search and Identification Final Handling
Bereaved Families
Recovery of the Dead Arrangement the Missing

NBI/ DILG DSWD

DND AFP/ PNP-CL LGU Leagues DILG DSWD
PNP Forensic Mortuary PNRC DOH, PNRC
BFP-SRU Experts Cemetery NBI DILG
PCG Academes Religious PNP Insurance
DILG LGU Leagues Organizations LGU Leagues Companies/
PNRC Commission
LGU Leagues Social Security
Groups
LGU Leagues
Search andRecovery

DND AFP/ PNP

BFP-SRU
PCG
DILG
PNRC
LGU Leagues
 Identificationof the Dead

NBI = Natural Disaster

PNP-CL= Man-made Disaster
Forensic
Experts
Academes
LGU Leagues
Final Arrangement

DILG
LGU Leagues
Mortuary
Cemetery
Religious Organizations
Handling the Missing

DSWD
DILG
PNRC
NBI
PNP
LGU Leagues
Assistance to Bereaved Families

DSWD
DOH, PNRC
DILG
InsuranceCompanies/ Commission
Social Security Groups
LGU Leagues
ANTEMORTEM DATA

BODY RECOVERY POSITIVEVISUAL ID

BODY RECEPTION/STORAGE

BODY EXAMINATION UNIT

FINGERPRINT PHOTOGRAPHY PATHOLOGY DENTISTRY DNA

COMPUTER DATA ENTRY /

DATA COMPARISON

MATCH

IDENTIFICATION BOARD

BODY RELEASE
DISASTER VICTIM ID
PHASES
PRE-OPERATIONAL PHASE
RECOVERY PHASE
POSTMORTEM PHASE
ANTEMORTEM PHASE
RECONCILIATION PHASE
RECOVERY

BODY BAGS
Plastic sheets, shrouds, bed sheets
Body parts are treated as individuals

2 groups
One to collect
One to transport to storage area
Ambulances should not be used to transport. Use
flatbed trucks or tractor trailers
RECOVERY

Personal belongings, jewelry & documents should not be separated

from the corresponding remains during recovery
BODY STORAGE
Endorsements from Recovery team

Tag body with unique number (location +

recovery unit/indiv + body#)

keep a record of each cadaver in a logbook.

BODY STORAGE
maintain a record of cadavers examined in a logbook

Periodic inventory of examined and unexamined cadavers shall

be reported to the site commander
BODY STORAGE

cryofreeze at 20C and thawed at +4C so that

they become soft enough for examination.

dry ice
For short term storage
Should not be placed on bodies
Build low wall of dry ice around groups of 20 bodies
and cover with a plastic sheet, tent
Produce CO2, use in areas with good ventilation
BODY STORAGE
ICE- Avoid where possible because:
Melts quickly and large amounts needed
Melts to large quantities and may cause concern about diarrheal
disease
May damage bodies and personal belongings

LIME apog
Should not be used as a preservative
BODY STORAGE
TEMPORARY BURIAL
use individual burial for a small number of bodies and trench burial for
larger numbers
burial should be 1.5 meters deep and at least 200 meters from the
water source
leave 0.4 meters between bodies
Lay bodies in one layer only (not on top of each other)
Clearly mark each body and their positions above ground.
IDENTIFICATION PHASE

PRE-OPERATIONAL PHASE
POST-MORTEM PHASE
ANTE-MORTEM PHASE
RECONCILIATION PHASE
PRE-OPERATIONAL PHASE
ACTIVATION
Request (verbal or written)
COORDINATION WITH NBI REGIONAL OFFICE
COORDINATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES
AFP DOH ICRC
PNP PNRC
COORDINATION WITH LGU
Governor
Mayor
Municipal Engineer
Municipal Health Officers
ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OPERATIONS BASE
OPERATIONS BASE
 INCIDENT COMMANDER

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

MORTUARY SITE RECOVERY UNIT

COMMANDER COMMANDER

LOGISTICS OFFICER TEAM LEADER, TEAM LEADER,

BODY EXAM IDENTIFICATION
UNIT CENTER

SUPPLIES OFFICER
DRIVER
MORTUARY SERVICE FINGERPRINTERS
DIETICIAN
PROVIDERS PHOTOGRAPHERS
FINGERPRINTERS MEDICO-LEGAL
PHOTOGRAPHERS OFFICERS
MEDICO-LEGAL DENTISTS
OFFICERS PROPERTY
DENTISTS TECHNICIANS
PROPERTY ADMINISTRATIVE
TECHNICIANS OFFICERS
MORGUE DATA ENCODERS
TECHNICIAN FORENSIC
CHEMISTS
VISUAL IDENTIFICATION

classified according to sex, age and race.

assigned and tagged with a unique cadaver

number

No clothing or any personal effects shall be

removed from the body.
VISUAL IDENTIFICATION

Clothing and personal effects shall be

documented.

The cadaver may be inspected for identifying

marks or any identification cards but such
identification cards must be placed back with
the body.
VISUAL IDENTIFICATION
All cadavers shall be photographed with its assigned number.
The following views should be taken:
Front, head, at 90% angle
lateral left, head
lateral right, head
Front, full body shot
Distinguishing features
Fingerprint the cadavers
VISUAL IDENTIFICATION
suitable holding area for public viewing of cadavers.

exposed to the public for visual identification within 24 hours

only
VISUAL IDENTIFICATION
suitable holding area for public viewing of cadavers.

exposed to the public for visual identification within 24 hours

only
VISUAL IDENTIFICATION
positively identified visually by a friend or relative will be
subjected to fingerprint and dental examination prior to death
certification and body release
POST MORTEM PHASE

Establish a mortuary site

Criteria for selection
Space
Electricity
Water
Availability of decontamination / disposal area for biohazard materials
Thailand Tsunami Victim Idenification Effort
Site 2
at
Phuket, Thailand
Philippine dvi set up
THE TEAM
ST BERNARD, LEYTE LANDSLIDE
SENDONG
CAGAYAN DE ORO
LEGASPI
MAYON LANDSLIDE
GUINOBATAN, ALBAY
MAYON LANDSLIDE
YOLANDA
TACLOBAN
YOLANDA
TACLOBAN
YOLANDA
TACLOBAN
MORTUARY SERVICE
MORTUARY SERVICE
 Proposed Organization of
FROM CONTAINERS
Examinations at Site 2

Intake Intake

Fingerprint
Supplies
Fingerprint Each trailer has two identical tracks, one for English
speaking teams and the other for European teams. The
diagram on the right is an overview of the process, the
diagram on the left is a detailed view of the placement of
staff and equipment. The starburst pattern for some
Fingerprint staff represents the general range of motion of a person
Fingerprint
working at that station.

FINGERPRINTS
W ash Fingerprint Fingerprint 4-6 Staff
Basin Refuse 20 - 30 minutes per case

Pathologist

Transit path for gurneys, safety zone

Pathology
Supplies

PATHOLOGY
Pathologist 3 Staff plus property person
30-45 minutes per case

Pathologist
Pathologist Refuse

W ash Dental
Basin DENTAL
3 Staff
45-60 Minutes per case

Dental
Dental
Supplies
Dental

Dental
Refuse
QC
2 Staff
15 Minutes per case
Quality
Supplies
QC

QC Control
Each track does 7-8 cases a
shift, 20-25 a day for a total of
50 cases per unit a day.

Mark Humphries, New Zealand

Hedwig Tromp, Netherlands
Mike Hennesey, Gene Codes Forensics TO LONG TERM STORAGE
January 28, 2005
FINGERPRINTING
PATHOLOGY
PERSONAL PROPERTY
DNA COLLECTION
DNA COLLECTION
FORENSIC ODONTOLOGY
BURIAL

Location
Site should be acceptable to the communities living near the
grave
There should be adequate space available
Soil conditions should be considered
 BURIAL

Graves should be at least 200m away from water

sources such as streams, lakes, springs, waterfalls,
beaches, and the shoreline.
Burial distance from water wells are as follows:
4 or less bodies 200 meters
5- 60 bodies 250 meters
60 or more 350 meters
120 bodies or more per 100 sqm 350 meters
BURIAL
Communal graves may be unavoidable in very large disasters.
Such graves should consist of a trench holding a single row of bodies
each placed parallel to one another, 0.4 meters apart..
grave should be 1.5 3 meters deeps, 2 meters between the
bottom of the grave and groundwater.
BURIAL
DECONTAMINATION
ANTEMORTEM PHASE
RECONCILIATION PHASE
ANTEMORTEM DATA

BODY RECOVERY POSITIVEVISUAL ID

BODY RECEPTION/STORAGE

BODY EXAMINATION UNIT

FINGERPRINT PHOTOGRAPHY PATHOLOG Y DENTISTRY DNA

DATA COMPARISON

MATCH

IDENTIFICATION BOARD

BODY RELEASE
RECONCILIATION PHASE

ISSUANCE OF RESULTS
ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE OF IDENTIFICATION OF BODY
ISSUANCE OF DEATH CERTIFICATE (c/o Municipal Health Officer)
RELEASE OF BODY TO LEGITIMATE NEXT OF KIN
THANK YOU !