Relative identification of remains of persons missing in fire

HAVANA, Cuba, Aug 17 (ACN) Dr. Jorge Gonzalez Perez, forensic expert in charge of the multidisciplinary team tasked with searching for and identifying the remains of those missing in the fire at the Matanzas supertanker base, said today at a press conference that it was impossible to establish the exact identity of the more than 700 bone fragments of the 14 victims found on site and offered his condolences to their families and friends, who will be therefore unable to claim any unidentified remains.

He explained that a body burns to ashes after two hours at 800 degrees, and the temperature around tank 51, where witnesses placed the firefighters, could have been over 2,000 degrees, which foreign experts consulted by Cuba consider more than enough to make identification unfeasible, as the team only found lanterns, midsoles of two different shoes, pieces of somebody’s chain and assorted items in addition to the human remains.

Gonzalez Perez remarked that the team met with the families, who thanked the experts, qualified by the Revolution, for their work and their honesty. Cuba, he said, has the state of the art and sufficient experience in forensic medicine to undertake this distressing task, and pointed out that if a new technology for identification appeared they would use it at once, using as an example the fact that Che Guevara’s remains were hidden for 30 years and yet they managed to find them.