Archiwum medycyny sa̧dowej i kryminologii
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Arch Med Sadowej Kryminol · Jan 2011
[Medico-legal assessment of the injuries of fatal victims of building collapse at Katowice International Fair in Katowice/Chorzów on January 28, 2006].
On January 28, 2006, during an exhibition of carrier pigeons, the roof of one of the buildings at Katowice International Fair collapsed. At the time of accident, there were 700 people in the building--65 died and 171 were injured. It was the biggest building disaster in the history of modern Poland. ⋯ Additionally, the bodies were identified by families. The post-mortem procedures eventually allowed for establishing the cause of death of all the victims. The authors emphasize the range of necessary medico-legal procedures and examinations that should be carried out in a Department of Forensic Medicine in case of a building collapse with a large number of fatalities in order to determine the type of injuries, cause and mechanism of death and to identify the deceased.