Role of dentists in Disaster Victim Identification of Sita air crash, Nepal

Abstract

Introduction: Sita Air Dornier 228, an early-morning flight from Tribhuvan International Airport Kathmandu to Lukla on Friday 28 September 2012 plunged into the banks of the Manohara River in Bhaktapur three minutes after takeoff, killing all 16 passengers and 3 crew members out of which seven were Britons, five were Chinese, one American and the rest, including the crew members, were Nepalese. All deceased were brought to Department of Forensic Medicine, Institute of Medicine for identification.

Methods: Autopsy was carried out systematically by Forensic Medicine experts and dental experts. Personal belongings, medical and dental findings were recorded. Ante-mortem data was collected from family members, relatives and respective embassies. Reconciliation was carried out comparing ante-mortem and post-mortem records,

Results: Of the human remains recovered, sixteen positive identifications were made by dental findings correlated with dental records and description given by family member. Two passengers were identified on medical grounds and the last one by exclusion.

Conclusion: This paper describes the crash victim identification of Sita Air Dornier 228. It highlights the importance of dental records and involvement of Forensic odontologist as a part of Disaster Victim Identification team. The authors were part of Disaster Victim Identification Team, Nepal for Sita Air Crash.