Mass Disaster Operational System of an Aircraft Accident in Korea / 대한법의학회지

ABSTRACT

Mass disasters usually include transportation accidents (aircraft, train or bus), structural failures of bridges and buildings, structural fires and industrial accidents. These often result in extensive damage of property and the loss of life. For the effective restoration and management of the situation, a well-organized operational plan is essential. Such a plan must consider facilities, specified personnel, administrative assistance and law enforcement. Recently, we experienced an aircraft accident leaving 128 people dead or missing. KDMORT (Korea Disaster Mortuary Operational Team) was tasked to perform the medicolegal investigations and identification. Difficulties were encountered during the procedures. In this article, we discuss some problems in the mass disaster operational system of Korea.