Resumen

ALTEZ, R.. Deaths under suspicion: Investigation on the number of deaths in the Vargas state disaster, Venezuela, in 1999. Cuad. med. forense [online]. 2007, n.50, pp.255-268. ISSN 1988-611X.

The disaster happened in December of 1999 in the Vargas state, Venezuela, run around the world like spectacular news, in which the number of deceases always oscillated between tens of thousands. Many of these numbers were the result of inexpert or irresponsible declarations, from which all possibility of precision became cloudy on the matter, contributing with it to that the notion on that event fed suppositions and not interpretations. This work are focused in the systematization of the existing information in the forensic offices that took part in the rise of corpses, as well as other instances to the case, accompanying the reasoning with qualitative approaches to the disaster zone. The results offered around this investigation, not only discuss the numbers offered from that moment, but that also demonstrate the problem result from not application of efficient methodologies for the treatment of disasters with massive deaths, demonstrating, in the same way, the necessity to develop formal investigations on similar cases.

Palabras clave : Mass disasters; deaths; Vargas state; Venezuela.

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