Landslide fatalities: A study of six cases.

A mountain collapsed on National Highway-53(NH-53) on 6th July 2011 around 2:30 p.m. A minibus which was carrying Security Personnel of Manipur Rifles (MR) and Indian Reserved Battalion (IRB) was hit by the landslide. Six occupants died on the spot and seven were injured. The cases were registered under U.D. Case no. 5/2011/G-SPM-PS and were brought to the RIMS Morgue the next day for Post Mortem Examination (PME). On PME, the victims showed general features of blunt force injuries with gross deformation and one case showed clogging of the whole respiratory tract with soil debris of the landslide. The victims died almost immediately on the spot due to vital organs injuries except in one case where it was due to traumatic asphyxia. Landslides occur frequently in these National Highways due to the hilly terrain and the perpetual rains, such major fatalities have never occurred before. Therefore the cases are reported here to analyze the types of injuries sustained, the causes of death and to discuss precautionary measures for prevention of further mishaps. This will also serve as an eye-opener to the magnitude of severity such a natural disaster.

A study of burn deaths in Imphal.

This is an epidemiological profile of the burn fatalities brought to the morgue of RIMS Imphal over a 16 yr period from 1990-2006. The study explores the year-wise incidence, age-gender distribution, time of occurrence, place of occurrence, socio-economic status, survival period, place of death, cause of death, body surface area involved, caste distribution, manner of death and monthly distribution. From the observations and analysis, certain etiologies are elicited and their preventive measures are suggested.

A postmortem study of blunt cardiac injuries.

35 cases of blunt cardiac trauma following vehicular accidents brought for autopsy to the morgue of Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal have been studied to find out types of cardiac injuries, their association with sternal and rib fractures, mechanism of causation, risk factors, etc. It was observed that 48.57% of the cases with blunt cardiac trauma had associated sternal and rib fractures. Maximum number (60%) of the cardiac rupture was seen in run-over cases. 40% of the cases had injury to the right ventricle. All the injuries were located on the anterior surface of the heart. In one (2.86%) case, laceration of the right atrium without any external injury of the chest region was observed. In assessing blunt cardiac trauma victims in vehicular accidents, knowledge about the commonest sites, types and degrees of injuries as has been highlighted in the present study will be of great help in a timely intervention.

Laceration of the heart without significant external injury: A case report.

In a case of vehicular accident the heart was found lacerated, when there were only some scratch abasions on the chest externally without fracture of the ribs or sternum. This case is reported to highlight the possiblitity of a serious fatal internal injury without significant external injury in the chest.

Auto erotic hanging brought as a case of suicidal hanging: A case report.

A rare case of auto erotic hanging brought as a case of suicidal partial hanging is reported in this paper. Hanging is usually considered suicidal if not proved otherwise. The findings which were corroborative of auto erotic hanging decided that this was a case of accidental and not suicidal hanging.

Tit for tat: An axe for a machete a case report.

A case where both the victim and the assailant are killed on the same day is not common. In this paper, a case is reported where the victim is killed first by the assailant and then the assailant is killed by an angry mob on the same day. The violent nature of the crime, the weapons used and the motives are highlighted here.

Contusion of lungs.

A 16 years old male with history of beating by army personnel was admitted in the hospital with the complaints of chest pain and breathlessness. After about 5 hours of admission, the patient died in spite of treatment with analgesics, antibiotics, fluids and oxygen inhalation. The autopsy report showed multiple bruises on different body parts and there were contusions on the lungs showing impression of rib patterns. Histological examination showed alveoli filled with blood and cellular infiltrate in interalveolar and interstitial spaces.