Mass Disaster Operational System of an Aircraft Accident in Korea.

Han, Ki Hwan; Choi, Dong Ho; Jo, Gam Rae; Park, Dae Kyoon; Han, Seung Ho; Kim, Kwang Hoon; Kwon, Il Hoon

Original article

Korean Journal of Legal Medicine 2002;26(2):36-41.
Published online October 31, 2002.

Mass Disaster Operational System of an Aircraft Accident in Korea.

Ki Hwan Han, Dong Ho Choi, Gam Rae Jo, Dae Kyoon Park, Seung Ho Han, Kwang Hoon Kim, Il Hoon Kwon

¹Department of Forensic Medicine, National Institute of Scientific Investigation, Korea.
²Department of Anatomy and Catholic Institute for Applied Anatomy, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Korea.

Abstract

Mass disasters usually include transportation accidents (aircraft, train or bus), structural failures of bridges and buildings, structural fires and industrial accidents. These often result in extensive damage of property and the loss of life. For the effective restoration and management of the situation, a well-organized operational plan is essential. Such a plan must consider facilities, specified personnel, administrative assistance and law enforcement. Recently, we experienced an aircraft accident leaving 128 people dead or missing. KDMORT (Korea Disaster Mortuary Operational Team) was tasked to perform the medicolegal investigations and identification. Difficulties were encountered during the procedures. In this article, we discuss some problems in the mass disaster operational system of Korea.

Key Words: Disaster planning, Aircraft, Accidents