Contribution of forensic odontology, DNA and forensic anthropology in the identification of the victims of Linate airport (Milano) mass disaster of october 8th 2001

Identification of foreign nationals in mass disasters are generally conducted according to the jurisdiction of the country in which the disaster occurs. However, such identification can be achieved only through co-operation with the authorities of the victims' countries of residence. On October 8th 2001 at Linate airport in Milan, Italy, an MD87 SAS airplane with 110 crew members and passengers on board collided on the ground with a Cessna Citation II jet with 2 pilots and 2 passengers. The plane then caught fire after having crashed into an airport baggage hangar causing the death of 4 other victims among the groundstaff. The accident claimed a total of 118 victims of 9 nationalities. Based on our experience from investigation of the Finnish victims, the presentation aims at exposing the importance of odontological identification in the assessment of this event.