Responding to complaints by some of the victims from Thursday's stampede at Mount Meron complained that the Israel National Center of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir was taking too long to identify the bodies of their loved ones, institute director Dr. Chen Kugel told Israel Hayom that "not only was there no delay in the identification of the bodies, it was done unusually quickly and we worked at a record pace."
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
"It is impossible to positively identify 45 bodies in six hours. In other places around the world, it takes hours," Kugel said.
Kugel explained that the process of identifying the bodies entails comparing data collected from the bodies such as DNA samples, fingerprints, CT scans, and medical records to genetic tests, identifying marks cited by relatives, dental X-rays, and more.
"The big difference between this disaster and other events, apart from it being the biggest civilian disaster [in Israel], was the massive pressure to identify all the bodies before the start of Shabbat," Kugel added.
"Practically speaking, it's impossible to do in a situation in which 45 bodies arrive at once, and the orderly process must be completed. We tried to work far beyond our capacity," the center director said.
Kugel also said that the institute had experienced difficulty obtaining the information needed for positive identification.
"This event happened to a unique sector of the population. In some cases, it was hard to get hold of information needed for matches like dental X-rays. There were also casualties from abroad. Most didn't have identifying documents," Kugel said.
Responding to arguments voiced that the forensic identification process should have been forgone in favor of allowing families to identify their loves ones, Kugel said, "We cannot take someone and ask them to look at 45 bodies. The identification needs to be scientific, based on clear criteria, like fingerprints or a genetic test. In this disaster there were four cases in which family members came in, said they identified a relative, and then it turned out not to be him. I understand the sensitivity, but despite the delay, it's very important to bury the correct person."
In the case of the late Yedidya Hayut, 13, whose family claimed that a body not their son's was brought to them at the cemetery for burial, Kugel said, "There was a mistake that we are still trying to determine whether it occurred during identification, documentation, or transport, because there were a lot of ambulances that left at the same time. When there's pressure like there, there can also be an error with the tag given to the ambulance. Obviously, we will clarify and reach conclusions."
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
In May 2018, a committee of experts recommended that Israel establish an additional forensics institute, and approximately a year later then-Health Minister Yakov Litzman approved the recommendation. Two years on, Israel still has no new forensics institute, and the existing one at Abu Kabir operates out of an old building with outdated infrastructure. The committee also recommended that the institute hire more forensic pathologists.
President Reuven Rivlin visited Abu Kabir on Sunday and thanked the staff for their work identifying the victims from the Meron stampede.
"The mind can't comprehend the loss of the lives of children, teens, husbands and fathers, who died such a brutal death," Rivlin said. "I want to tell the families that I am with them in their sorrow, that all the people of Israel are with them."
Kugel thanked Rivlin for visiting, telling him, "This is the first time in the history of the institute that the president has visited. We thank you with all our hearts."
The Office of the President issued a statement noting that Israel had few forensic pathologists available to the public at times of mass casualty events.
