Mass disasters observed at the Sapienza University of Rome: a retrospective study between 1964 and 2005

The specialists of the Department of Legal Medicine of the “Sapienza” University of Rome (Italy) were involved in the investigation of ten mass disasters over fifty years (1964-2005). The victims examined were 230. The cases, distributed both in Italy and abroad, included four terrorist attacks, three airplane accidents, two collapsed buildings, and one shipwreck in a river. One of the most important tasks in mass disasters is the identification of victims. Another key issue is the determination of the cause of death and the contribution to the reconstruction of the events. In all cases the training and the capability of our specialists to interact with all the entities involved in the mass disaster management played a critical role. For all cases the timeline of operations is provided, beginning with the collection of the antemortem information. Specialists of our Department took part to the antemortem teams, due to their particular experience. For postmortem collection of information our Institute historically played a central role, especially because all the Italian victims of any accidents happened abroad are examined in “Sapienza” morgue. The aim of this contribution is to highlight the changes that have occurred over the years in the management of mass disaster investigations in Rome and to present the latest developed organisation of specialists involved and their procedures, stressing the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach in mass disaster management.