Authorities in Libya exhumed on Sunday the skeletal remains of 50 flood victims in Derna to collect DNA samples, hoping to identify missing people among those buried.
In a statement via Facebook, the Medical Emergency and Support Center said these DNA samples were collected from bodies of victims who were buried in a mass grave in Al-Dhahr Al-Ahmar cemetery after Storm Daniel unleashed extreme floods that devastated the city and killed over 4,000 people on September 10.
The fate of thousands remain unknown as they went missing, while others were hastily buried without proper identification and documentation procedures, which caused a need to look for the missing among the dead, according to the Medical Emergency and Support Center.
Authorized by Public Prosecution, the exhumation was conducted by the center in cooperation with forensics teams.