The Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) of Ceuta has counted so far the bodies of 82 deceased people in the sea while trying to cross the border into Spain, of which only four have been identified.
According to the Integrated Data Center (CID) in an informative note, this Thursday the lifting of two other bodies located in the sea has been carried out, whose autopsies are scheduled for this Friday.
The agency has also pointed out that, of the total of 82 victims, the lifting of one of the bodies took place on July 29 and that of another on the morning of the 30th, just before the massive entry of immigrants into Ceuta.
IDENTIFICATIONS THROUGH BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES AND FINGERPRINTS
The forensic doctors, along with the Criminalistics service of the Civil Guard, have obtained biological samples and fingerprints from all the bodies recovered from the sea.
After the autopsy is performed, the Criminalistics service of the Civil Guard sends the digitized fingerprints to attempt their identification. At the same time, biological samples are collected in order to compare them with those of relatives and thus have another way to determine the identity of the deceased individuals.
To date, two people have been identified through their fingerprints, as they were previously recorded in registers in Spain. In addition, the identity of two other bodies has been confirmed through biological studies.
At the same time, the Criminalistics Service of the Civil Guard has four other deceased individuals pending identification by biological methods -- direct comparison between DNA from relatives.
In any case, the IML emphasizes that the Court must ratify the identity of these individuals and that, to be able to advance in the identification of the rest, it will be necessary to send the fingerprint data to Morocco for eventual recognition.
THE GOVERNMENT OPENS A MISSING PERSONS OFFICE
This Thursday, the Government delegate in Ceuta, Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano, announced the establishment of a missing persons office. For the moment, he specified, 32 reports have been registered based on.
He also explained that they are already handling 29 cases in which there is a possibility of linking a body with the relative who has provided DNA, pending only the collection of the corresponding biological sample.