The Fate of Human Remains in a Maritime Context and Feasibility For

Home , Air France Flight 447, Burial at sea, Skeletonization

Forensic Science International 279 (2017) 229–234

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Forensic Science International

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/forsciint

The fate of human remains in a maritime context and feasibility for

forensic humanitarian action to assist in their recovery and identiﬁcation

a, b a

Sarah Theresa Dorothea Ellingham *, Pierre Perich , Morris Tidball-Binz

International Committee of the Red Cross, Protection Division, Forensic Unit, 19 Avenue de la Paix, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland

APHM, CHU Timone, Service de Médicine Légale et droit de la Santé, 13385 Cedex 5, Marseille, France

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Article history:

Available online 7 August 2017 The number of annual maritime fatalities reported in the Mediterranean has more than doubled in the

last two years, a phenomenon closely linked to the increase of migrants attempting to reach Europe via

the Mediterranean. The majority of victims reportedly never gets recovered, which in part relates to the

Keywords: fact that the mechanisms and interaction of factors affecting marine taphonomy are still largely not

Forensic humanitarian action understood. These factors include intrinsic factors such as whether the individual was alive or dead at the

Maritime taphonomy

time of submergence, the individual’s stature and clothing, as well as extrinsic factors such including

Submerged remains

ambient temperature, currents, water depth, salinity and oxygen levels. This paper provides a

Maritime body recovery

compilation of the current literature on factors inﬂuencing marine taphonomy, recovery and

Disaster victim identiﬁcation

identiﬁcation procedures for submerged remains, and discusses the implications for the retrieval and

identiﬁcation of maritime mass fatalities as part of the humanitarian response, speciﬁcally humanitarian

forensic action, to the consequences of the current migration phenomenon.

1. Introduction Whilst the majority of maritime fatalities are related to

migration, other recent prominent incidents resulting in a large

Recent years have seen an unprecedented humanitarian number of individuals ﬁnding death in marine bodies of water

tragedy due to a loss of human life at sea in the Mediterranean. include the crash of Yemenia ﬂight 626 in 2009, the sinking of the

This is particularly linked to the upsurge of migration, including MS Spice Islander I off the coast of Zanzibar killing up to 1500 people

through maritime routes such as those crossing the Mediterra- in 2011, the crash of Air France ﬂight 447 in 2009 with 228 fatalities,

nean; whilst the sea route to the EU is not a new one, the number of the 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry in South Korea, causing the

individuals commencing on this journey is exponentially growing, death of 304 individuals, Egypt Air ﬂight 804 killing 66 when

as is the death toll attending this increase, as the vessels utilized in crashing into the Mediterranean in early 2016 as well as most likely

the crossings are frequently of low quality and ﬁlled way above Malaysian Airlines ﬂight 370 which vanished off the radars over

their capacity [1]. Between 1988 and 2013 a reported 14,309 people the Indian Ocean with 239 people on board in 2014. The increasing

died in an attempt to cross the Mediterranean [2], in 2014 and number of mass fatalities in the maritime context poses particular

2015 combined, 7191 people were reported to have lost their lives; challenges for the recovery and identiﬁcation of the dead.

the actual number is likely even higher. 2016 alone has seen Every human being has the right not to lose his or her identity

4913 casualties [3]. Many victims never get recovered or identiﬁed. after death [4], and the necessity to retrieve and identify the

However in an unprecedented operation, in June 2016 the Italian deceased for humanitarian, judicial and administrative reasons, is

Navy recovered a sunken ﬁshing boat believed to have held more not only universally recognized, but also perpetuated in domestic

than 800 migrants when it capsized in April 2015, and identiﬁca- and international law, such as the 1949 Geneva Conventions [5],

tion efforts are underway at the time of writing. and their 1977 Additional Protocols [6]. Under International

Humanitarian Law (IHL), the dead from armed conﬂict are a

distinct category of victim with the right to having their dignity

protected; though the matter of management of the dead is not yet

speciﬁcally addressed in the evolving body of International

* Corresponding author.

Disaster Response Law (IDRL), with the exception of situations

E-mail address: [email protected] (S.T.D. Ellingham).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2017.07.039

230 S.T.D. Ellingham et al. / Forensic Science International 279 (2017) 229–234

in which death was caused by negligence of a State, the adequate which are trapped in a structure at the bottom or if they have sunk

management and identiﬁcation of disaster victims is equally to depths greater than about 60 m [13,15]. The main factor affecting

important [7,8]. Nonetheless, for many individuals who lose their the rate of decomposition is the ambient temperature, the process

life at sea, this does not materialize for a variety of reasons [1]. thus slowing down in lower water temperatures. Another factor

Despite their relevance in the recovery and identiﬁcation efforts inﬂuencing decomposition rate is hydrostatic pressure, with low

of human remains from the sea, the mechanisms and factors hydrostatic pressure being more conducive to decomposition. It is

affecting marine taphonomy are still largely not understood, as therefore not uncommon for sunken bodies to resurface in coastal

research in this area to date has been scarce. There are multiple regions during low tide, as the decrease in water column lowers the

factors affecting the fate of human remains in the marine context, hydrostatic pressure on the body [11].

including intrinsic factors such as whether the individual was alive Oceanic currents and particularly drift currents, which are

or deceased at the time of submergence, stature and clothing, as dependent on atmospheric changes, can be highly variable,

well as extrinsic factors including ambient temperature, currents, however there are several numerical oceanographic forecast

water depth, salinity and oxygen levels. Much of the current body models which can be accessed, such as the Mediterranean Forecast

of knowledge concerning marine taphonomy is derived from case System Pilot Project (MFSPP), the Princeton Ocean Model (POM)

observations and some experimentally conducted research off the [16] or the US Navy’s Naval Oceanographic Ofﬁce (NAVO) which

coast of British Columbia. runs the Shallow Water Analysis and Forecast System (SWAFS),

It is the aim of this paper to provide a compilation of the current operational models for marginal seas around the world [17–20].

body of knowledge relating to the fate of human remains in a Predicting body displacement in marine environments is highly

maritime context. This includes processes of marine taphonomy, complex and the collaboration of forensic and operational

recovery and identiﬁcation procedures for submerged remains, oceanographic expertise, such as accumulated by the agencies

and the implications for the retrieval and identiﬁcation of mentioned above, is paramount for such investigations.

maritime related mass fatalities, in particular in light of the

current migration phenomenon and humanitarian efforts, partic- 3. Decomposition and taphonomy

ularly forensic humanitarian action, to properly manage and

identify the dead from these events. The process of decomposition in water generally progresses

The following sections will discourse upon the factors playing a slower than on land, which is due to the cooler temperatures as

role in the successful retrieval and identiﬁcation of human well as the absence of necrophagous insects. When comparing the

remains, such as water drift, the intrinsic and extrinsic factors differing aqueous environments, salt water decomposition pro-

inﬂuencing the decomposition rate and pattern, as well as ceeds at an even further decelerated rate than that in fresh water.

technical approaches to the detection and recovery of human This can be attributed to the fact that in the latter water is absorbed

remains from a maritime environment. Finally, identiﬁcation into the circulatory system, causing organs to swell and rupture,

methods will be discussed. whereas in the former, ﬂuids are drawn out of the blood and

thehigh salinity slow bacterial activity [10]. The decomposition of

2. Drift remains in the marine context also heavily depends on many other

factors, including whether the remains sink or ﬂoat. In ﬂoating

There is a number of factors inﬂuencing a body’s horizontal and remains disarticulation of the appendages through current and

vertical displacement in water after drowning [9]. Vertical wave action weakening the soft tissue connection of the joints is a

movement is dependent on the body’s gravity and the relationship common factor [21]. The generally observed sequence of disarticu-

of its density to the density of the water; the average density of lation occurs at major joints, from distal to proximal; on the upper

males and females is 0.98 and 0.97 g/cm respectively, the density limbs the ﬁrst to disarticulate are the wrist joints, the elbow and the

of salt water is 1.024 g/cm [10]. This results in the fact that less shoulder joints. On the lower limbs loss of the feet at the ankle joint

dense human bodies have a tendency to ﬂoat, however even small is followed by the knee joint. The mandible disarticulates around

variations have a severe inﬂuence on buoyancy [11,12]. This, in turn the same time as the hands, and the cranium is lost parallel to

has a direct impact on horizontal displacement. Particularly in disarticulation of the forearms [21]. This pattern, however can be

cases of drowning an increase in body speciﬁc gravity and altered through the presence of clothing, which may preserve the

subsequent decrease in buoyancy due to increased lung weight soft tissue and inhibit disarticulation (Figs. 1 and 2).

through water inhalation or increased stomach weight through

water ingestion, leads to a sinking of the body [11]. Once sinking

commences, the hydrostatic pressure, which increases by 1 atm.

for every 10 m depth, compresses gas containing cavities in the

body, causing it to sink to the bottom. The settling of remains on

the bottom of a body of water is dependent on factors such as the

water currents and the type of substrate [10]. The increased

frictional forces at the bottom of maritime environments in

combination with the decreased velocity of the water current at

greater depths result in the drag forces frequently not being able to

overcome gravitational forces and less horizontal body displace-

ment to occur [11]. Signiﬁcant horizontal displacement therefore

only occurs after the body resurfaces if it is not immediately

recovered. In cases in which the individual entered the water

already dead, died of reasons other than drowning or was wearing

a ﬂotation device, it is possible for it to not sink at all [13] and drift

of up to 380 km in 60 h [14].

Sunken bodies resurface once they enter the bloating stage of

decomposition, the putrefactive gases decreasing the body speciﬁc

Fig. 1. Differential decomposition after 70 days of submersion, due to the body

gravity and increasing buoyancy. The exception to this are bodies being protected by clothing; note disarticulation of the mandible.

S.T.D. Ellingham et al. / Forensic Science International 279 (2017) 229–234 231

Fig. 2. Differential decomposition of a drift corpse washed ashore, exhibiting Fig. 3. Cookiecutter shark (Isistius) predation.

skeletonization in the cervico-cephalic region whilst the remainder of the body is

virtually intact.

Researchers at Simon Fraser University have monitored the

decomposition process at various depths (7.6 m, 15.2 m, 94–99 m

and 300 m) experimentally in the Paciﬁc Ocean off the Coast of British

Columbia, by utilizing pigs as human proxy [13,22,23]. At the shallow

depths of 7.6 m and 15.2 m the remains, 50% of the carcasses were still

ﬂoating despite having been deceased prior to their placement in the

water. The remains which had sunk showed more severe scavenging

and skeletonization than those ﬂoating [23]. The remains deployed at

depths of 94–99 m were found to sink immediately. After 14 days the

carcasses were partiallyskeletonized due to scavengeractivity (mainly

lysianassid amphipods); all soft tissue and most of the cartilage was

removed by day 42. All tissue loss at these depths was entirely due to

animal feeding and not related to decomposition [13]. Anderson [13]

further noted that in instances in which the oxygen levels dropped to

hypoxic levels of below 2.0 mL/L, virtually no scavenger activity took

Fig. 4. Shark (Selachimorpha) predation.

place, leaving the remains intact. Remains placed at a depth of 300 m

immediately attracted lysianassid amphipods, which ﬁrst consume

the internal organs followed by the skin, and completely skeletonized

the remains within 4 days. It was noted that after skeletonization It has been possible to successfully recover and identify 154 of

bones were rapidly covered by silt, with black discolorations forming the 228 victims of the 2009 Air France Flight 447 crash into the

ﬂ

both on the skeletal elements and the surrounding silt, which was Atlantic Ocean. Fifty were oating on the ocean surface in the

observed from day 23 post deposition [22]. immediate aftermath of the crash, 104 were recovered from a

Dumser and Türkay [24] reported the location and recovery of depth of 4000 m after 21 months of submergence [26]. Differential

skeletal human remains at a depth of 580 m, 89 days after a mid-air preservation of the remains was observed, with remains in contact

jet aircraft collision off the Namibian coast. The skeletal elements with the sediment having been mostly skeletonized and remains

were in the immediate vicinity of the plane wreckage and although suspended in the debris still having been virtually intact. A

disarticulated, still in anatomical order and partially clothed. In remarkable protection of soft tissue through clothing was observed

another incident involving a helicopter accident over the [26]. Predation occurred by amphipods as well as squat lobsters

Mediterranean Sea, partially decomposed and fully clothed (Galatheae), which were observed to gnaw on bone epiphyses and

remains were recovered at a depth of 540 m after 34 days. It is leaving bone lesions on cancellous bone as well as the external

to be noted that this incident occurred in an ecological environ- table of the crania. Examples of Galatheae scavenging can be seen

–

ment devoid of the highly scavenging lysianassids [24]. in Figs. 5 6. There was no predation from Isistia or larger sharks.

Following the crash of Yemenia ﬂight 626 into the Indian Ocean Observed polytrauma of the remains was associated with the

in 2009, which cost the lives of 152 individuals (leaving one sole crash. Skin and bones in direct contact with the sediment exhibited

survivor), 24 bodies were washed ashore 300 nautical miles away, black discolouration.

7 days after the crash and 70 were recovered from a depth of Decomposition patterns are further altered in instances in

1280 m after 70 days of submergence [25]. The remains displayed a which the remains are in an enclosed environment not permitting

highly differential decomposition, with parts of the remains still access to scavengers, in which cases adipocere formation is often

fully ﬂeshed, while others, particularly in the cervico-cephalic observed. Adipocere is a waxy byproduct of decomposition which

region being skeletonized. Over 60% of the victims recovered from is formed by the hydrolysis and hydrogenation of tissue fat, which

the sea bed exhibited circular lesions attributed to scavenging by typically forms in anaerobic, moist environments, and once formed

cookiecutter sharks (Isistius), while victims who were found has been observed to remain unchanged for at least 150 years,

drifting on the surface displayed large classical shark bites. inhibiting skeletonization [27]. Depending on factors such as the

(Examples of shark and Isistius scavenging can be seen in type of fatty acids, the temperature, immersion depth and clothing,

Figs. 3 and 4). adipocere can either be hard and crumbly, or soft and paste like

232 S.T.D. Ellingham et al. / Forensic Science International 279 (2017) 229–234

Fig. 5. Galatheae scavenging marks on a cranium. Fig. 8. Adipocere formation.

leading to easily dislodgeable white ﬂaky deposits on the skin were

observed, which is most likely due to the very high pressure of

400 bars [26].

4. Detection and recovery

In deep sea environments, typically remotely operated vehicles

(ROV) equipped with a colour video camera are deployed [24]

(Fig. 9). Ideally the video images should be monitored by forensic

personnel, as was the case for the recovery of the Air France Flight

447 recovery. In some instances sonar exploration of the sea bed

can be deployed prior to the sending of an ROV.

Recovery dives need to be carefully planned and diver’s safety is

of paramount importance. For handling cadavers in underwater

recovery operations speciﬁc training is required, as recognizing

human tissue in different states of preservation and under

different circumstances such as poor visibility and/or conﬁned

Fig. 6. Galatheae scavenging marks on a femur.

spaces requires speciﬁc knowledge and experience [28,29]. The

[10] (Fig. 8). Adipocere formation has been reported as early as psychological impact of such recoveries on divers also has to be

38 days post submergence in remains recovered from a ship wreck taken into consideration. During the recovery of the victims of the

in the East China Sea from a depth of 85 m [27]. In the case of the

Air France Flight 447 crash, an incomplete saponiﬁcation of fats,

Fig. 7. A crab scavenging a bone. Fig. 9. Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) for underwater searches.

S.T.D. Ellingham et al. / Forensic Science International 279 (2017) 229–234 233

Air France Flight 447 crash, a psychiatrist and a psychologist were

on board at all times to offer support to the crew.

In order to facilitate optimal prerequisites for identiﬁcation,

remains need to be bagged in a consistent manner and the area

surrounding the remains need to be carefully examined and

documented, including the recovery depth. In order to allow for a

re-visiting of the scene if necessary, a marker should be placed

[28]. Remains should be bagged under water in order to minimize

the loss of physical evidence [28]; special water recovery bags

made out of vinyl coated polyester mesh are available, which allow

for easier recovery while submerged and quick drainage once

removed from water. Once on deck bodies can be transferred into

conventional, leak proof bags.

In deep sea recoveries the bagging of remains under water is not

feasible. In these instances ROVs equipped with robotic arms have

been deployed in past operations. Using visual control, intact

remains are gripped by the robotic arm at belt level, by the lower

limbs or shoulder and placed into a metal collection basket

Fig. 12. Metal cage deployed for deep sea recovery of remains.

(Figs. 10–12). Individual body fragments can be picked up and

placed into the collection basket separately. In case of the AF

447 Flight, the basket was towed to the surface by a 4000 m long

sea recoveries, bodies can undergo multiple changes during the

cable with an ascent time of approximately 3 h at a speed of 20 m/

ascent, including a stripping of clothing, loss of soft tissue, frequent

min [26].

joint disjunctions and detachment of appendages even at very slow

Prior to recovery, a detailed description and positioning of the

ascent speeds. In addition the rapid increase in temperature

remains as well as associated items need to be recorded, and

accelerates decomposition [26].

visibility permitting, photographs of the body and surroundings

Recovered remains need to be adequately stored aboard the

should be taken. All associated items need to be recorded, bagged

vessel, requiring refrigeration until they can be transferred to land.

and recovered. This is particularly crucial as, particularly in deep

5. Identiﬁcation

According to Winskog [28], around 60% of victims of maritime

disasters are identiﬁed through odontology, this however being

heavily dependent on the availability of ante-mortem records. In

well preserved remains, deep muscle tissue can be sampled for

DNA analysis, however even after removal of all soft tissues, DNA

can be successfully extracted from submerged skeletal remains for

decades [30], depending on the skeletal element. Goodwin et al.

[31], were able to identify the remains of an individual who had

been submerged in a Scottish Loch for 35 years based on his mtDNA

proﬁle and the ampliﬁcation of nuclear DNA from a tibia.

Fredericks et al. [32], who analyzed the remains of individuals

which had been submerged in sea water for 2 and 4 years, observed

the successful DNA ampliﬁcation rate to be dependent on the

skeletal element as well as the duration of submergence, and found

a higher allelic dropout to occur in “low load” bearing bones. They

noted the highest successful ampliﬁcation rate from foot bones. It

Fig. 10. ROV robotic arm deployed in deep sea recoveries of remains.

is paramount that the method of identiﬁcation must not be

decided before the body has been recovered from the water and

have been examined by a forensic expert.

Additionally it has to be noted, that although visual identiﬁca-

tion and circumstantial identiﬁers such as tattoos or scars are

undoubtedly useful, they are not always recognized as legally valid

identiﬁers in every country. Under some jurisdictions, only

primary identiﬁers (DNA, ﬁngerprints and dental records) are

accepted means of identiﬁcation. If possible, remains should

always be brought back to land to enable repatriation; however, in

cases in which burial at sea is the only option, the remains need to

be thoroughly documented and biological samples enabling future

identiﬁcation through primary identiﬁers need to be taken. For this

purpose the use of FTA paper or other biological storage cards

should be considered, as these contain contain chemicals which

break the cellular material, binding the DNA and thus allowing for

the long term storage of biological samples at room temperature by

protecting the DNA from microorganisms, UV light and oxidative

damage [33].

Fig. 11. ROV robotic arm placing human remains into the metal recovery cage.

234 S.T.D. Ellingham et al. / Forensic Science International 279 (2017) 229–234

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