DERNA, 12th October, 2023 (WAM) --The UAE Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team, currently in Derna as part of their humanitarian mission on the Libyan soil, have announced the launch of a 'central body identification line' in Derna, Libya. This announcement was made in accordance with a mandate from the Libyan Prosecutor General.

In detail, and in accordance with this mandate, two centers for communication with the families of the missing have been launched in Derna, namely the Bab Tobruk Center and the Sheja Center. This was done in coordination with the General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons in Libya.

The Emirati team are working in coordination with the relevant Libyan authorities to receive the families of the victims at the Bab Tobruk and Sheja centers. A team of consultants and specialists in forensic medicine, dental medicine, and genetic fingerprinting is taking medical details and DNA samples from the families. This is to create databases of initial identifiers such as DNA and match them with the families of the missing.

Dr. Issa Ahmed Al-Awadhi, the commander of the UAE team said that the 24-member team consist of highly qualified international experts, carrying out all stages of the identification process with high efficiency and professionalism. The team are working in accordance with the international protocol for disasters, which includes a number of stages, starting with the "scene of the event" stage, during which the bodies and remains are retrieved from the site of the event in Derna from under the rubble and from the shores of the sea. The "post-mortem" stage follows, during which the human remains are examined and the victim's identity is worked on.

Al-Awadhi told the Emirates News Agency (WAM) that the third stage, the "pre-mortem" stage, involves obtaining the medical or dental records, fingerprints, and genetic fingerprints of family members, which is currently underway. After that, "matching" is done to compare the two sets of information and reconcile them to identify the victims, leading to burial procedures.

It is worth noting that the efforts of the UAE team have helped the Libyan authorities and teams uncover the locations of the victims of Hurricane Daniel, which struck the city on September 10, 2023. Approximately 229 bodies and remains have been recovered as a result of the team's tireless work on the shores of the city, under the rubble, and in the most affected areas.

This technical and humanitarian support comes within the framework of the ongoing relief efforts of the United Arab Emirates, in embodiment of its humanitarian vision to support Libya, and to alleviate the severity of the difficult humanitarian situation that the Libyan people are living through as a result of natural disaster.