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In a recent development, the Ministry of Interior has announced that the General Secretariat of Interpol is preparing to dispatch additional technical teams. These teams will bolster ongoing search and rescue operations and aid in the identification of bodies in disaster-stricken areas.
The Ministry highlighted that an Emirati team, which commenced its operations last Thursday, was the first to be deployed by Interpol. This team specializes in victim identification.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Interior revealed that technical teams from the Criminal Investigation Department in Derna have successfully recovered 75 bodies and the remains of 50 flood victims. The extraction process was a collaborative effort involving the Coast Guard, divers, naval teams, emergency and field medicine personnel, and Italian vertical aviation.
The Ministry also disclosed that a genetic fingerprinting team has begun collecting DNA samples from 125 unidentified bodies. They are also working on extracting approximately 100 more bodies from predetermined sites. This operation is being carried out despite numerous natural obstacles and is coordinated between the technical teams of the Investigation Department and the Central Support Team.
Kamal Al-Saywi, head of the General Authority for Search and Identification of Missing Persons, confirmed their inaugural effort in collecting 62 DNA samples from unidentified bodies in Derna. This initiative was commissioned by the Attorney General.
Al-Saywi stated that a team would be dispatched on Saturday to collect DNA samples from the victims’ families. He assured that identifying scattered remains found over the past two days is not a difficult task. Each set of remains will be dealt with individually until all are identified.
Regarding the number of recovered bodies, Al-Saywi indicated that current figures may not be accurate due to various parties participating in extraction operations and making random announcements.
