Crime scene investigation under scrutiny as passers-by find body remains at Ankara blast site

Crime scene investigation under scrutiny as passers-by find body remains at Ankara blast site

ISTANBUL
Quality of Turkey’s crime scene investigation (CSI) services comes under scrutiny as passers-by have discovered body remains at three different locations at the Ankara blast site, two days after the area reopened to traffic.

Body remains have been recovered in three different locations at the site of the double suicide bombings in Ankara, three days after the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality was allowed to clean the area and two days after the road crossing opened to traffic. 

The first pieces were found by journalists from Kanal D, a private Turkish broadcaster, who were there to report on a meeting commemorating the victims of the blast. 


Journalists realized burnt body remains, which went unnoticed by crime scene investigators, were lying only five meters away from the site of the blast.

A CSI team arrived at the scene after being notified by the reporters. 

Other body remains were discovered by a group of people passing the area, who were concerned the remnants could belong to one of the suicide bombers.

“This is human flesh and could belong to the suicide bombers. We need to notify the police,” the citizens said on camera.


The Kanal D reporters also indicated more remains were recovered by workers while cleaning the Ankara train station.

The findings were handed to the prosecutor’s office via lawyers. 

The twin blasts in Turkey’s capital city ahead of a peace rally on Oct. 10 left at least 97 people dead, making the bombings the single largest terror attack in the country’s history.