Page 157 - VERITAS Vol.2 Issue 2

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DNA PRO-

FILING BY SHORT TANDEM

REPEAT ANALYSIS IN

IDENTIFYING MASS CASUALTIES

Veritas Volume: 2, Issue: 2, Pages:148-151 Ms. Blessy John Kaalla

Disasters are unpredictable; they can be natural, accidental, or man-

made events that occur with or without a warning and cause or threaten

to cause death, injury, or damage to property, the environment, or lives.
Disaster Victim Identification is a process for recovering and identify-

ing deceased people or human remains in mass casualty incidents. The

establishment of the victim’s identity is critically necessary on human-

itarian grounds for all the grieving relatives and legal issues to achieve

closure.

Identification is done by primary identifiers like comparative dental anal-

ysis, fingerprint, and DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) analysis, or by sec-
ondary identifiers like personal description, medical findings, records,

clothing, and evidence found on the body.

Body identification in fire disaster incidents becomes more difficult be-

cause the bodies are in poor condition, being extremely charred and

having only remnant burnt soft tissues and bones.

Fig.1:Deoxyribonucleic

acid

148 Veritas Volume: 2, Issue: 2