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7552669 
Journal Article 
Dental identification after two mass disasters in Croatia 
Dumancić, J; Kaić, Z; Njemirovskij, V; Brkić, H; Zecević, D 
2001 
Yes 
Croatian Medical Journal
ISSN: 0353-9504
EISSN: 1332-8166 
42 
6 
657-662 
English 
11740850 
WOS:000173514600012 
Aim. To determine the usefulness of dental methods in the identification of victims in the railway accident in Zagreb (August 30, 1974) and midair collision of a British and a Slovenian airplane near Vrbovec (September 10, 1976).

Methods. There were 152 people killed in the railway accident, and 176 fatalities in the plane crash (63 in the British and 113 in the Slovenian plane). Individual victim identification and autopsy forms, and group identification reports were analyzed.

Results. Of the railway accident victims, 111 were identified. Dental characteristics, along with clothes, personal descriptions, personal documents, fingerprints, and jewelry, proved to be decisive in 5% of the cases. All 63 passengers and crew members from the British plane were identified; in 33% of the victims dental features, along with other characteristics, were decisive. From the Slovenian plane 103 victims were identified, 14% exclusively by teeth and 16% by teeth in combination with other characteristics. Ten bodies remained unidentified.

Conclusion. The reasons for the small number of dental identifications in the victims of the railway accident were incomplete or unavailable antemortem data provided by relatives and friends of the deceased, and the predominant orientation toward other forensic identification methods. The significant number of dental identifications in the plane crash is explained by the provision of complete and accurate antemortem odontological data. Dental characteristics proved to be particularly valuable in the identification of carbonized victims. 
10th International Symposium on Comparative Pathology 
Zagreb, Croatia 
1999