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After facing a tough task and rigorous exercise in preserving and identifying bodies of the Bahanaga train tragedy, the AIIMS in Bhubaneswar is reportedly mulling to set up a high-tech regional forensic laboratory on its premises. Artificial intelligence will be used for various aspects of the forensic tests.
“The kind of huge experience we gained in handling and preserving scores of bodies from the train tragedy, drove us to think of such a facility for big disasters, be it natural calamities, earthquakes, and the like, in the future. A proposal for the project will be sent to the central government. A special lab for DNA testing will be a part of this project,” said Ashutosh Biswas, the executive director of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar.
According to the AIIMS executive director, the laboratory will be well-equipped with the necessary facilities to handle over 100 bodies at a time. Adequate medical instruments, machines, chemicals, and manpower will be in place so that the bodies can be embalmed immediately on arrival.
Besides, the forensic lab will have a capacious morgue with massive cold storage units to preserve the bodies, a lab for viscera extraction, and a special lab for DNA testing. Significantly, artificial intelligence will be used to identify bodies damaged beyond recognition during disasters.
Notably, as many as 162 bodies from the train tragedy were preserved at the AIIMS. Of them, 81 had been given to their family members in the first phase while 53 more bodies were handed over in the second phase after DNA tests. However, 28 bodies could not be identified as there were no claimants. These bodies have been recently cremated by the BMC.
- Reported by:
- KAPILENDRA PRADHAN
