Forensic pathological characteristics of explosion trauma in confined space terrorist mass fatalities classified with a 3-dimensional model

Background: Explosion fatalities are the severest type of violent crimes. These involve the use of explosive devices in terrorist like activities in confined spaces in civilian or military settings, with mass number of people present all around. A stark dearth of literature for the forensic interpretation of such catastrophes is astonishing.

Purpose: Characterization of the pattern of the multitude of injuries in explosions in confined spaces as guide for investigations and growth of literature on this entity.

Methodology: A review of the archives of the forensic examinations of mass fatalities due to an explosion in a metro car was undertaken. It was combined with the reconstruction of the events by developing a three-dimensional model of this incident that involved seventeen fatalities.

Results: All the decedents showed differential pattern of fatal injuries under the influence of damaging explosion factors (DEFs). The causative forces were characterized as gas-detonation (in all the cases), damaging effect by shock waves (59% of the cases), and impact of fragmentation and collision of the body (thrown off) with nearby objects. Traumatic effect due to shrapnel as well as blunt force was noted in 82% of the cases. Gross destruction of head due to combined effect of gas-detonation and fragmentation was seen in 29% of the cases.

Conclusion: An interpretation of the nature and pattern of injuries in confined space explosions can help to estimate the location of deceased/s with respect to the epicenter and the type of DEFs.