Families perform symbolic cremations as morgues overflow and thousands remain missing…reports Asian Lite News Desk
Families in Nepal performed symbolic cremation rituals on Wednesday for relatives missing or killed in last week’s devastating flash floods, as authorities continued mass burials of unidentified victims amid a shortage of morgue space.
A week after the disaster struck, some families used kush, a sacred grass, to create effigies representing victims whose bodies had not been recovered or identified.
Meanwhile, Nepal Police and rescue teams transported bodies from Dhunche for burial near a river on the outskirts of Kathmandu after authorities struggled to identify the remains.
Mass burials had already begun in Kathmandu on Tuesday after morgues ran out of space to accommodate the growing number of bodies recovered from areas devastated by the floods.
Security personnel wearing personal protective equipment carried body bags through muddy terrain in the Gokarna forest area on the outskirts of the capital, where unidentified victims were buried in marked graves.
Authorities said DNA samples had been collected from the bodies before burial to allow for future identification and cross-matching with relatives. The graves were also marked and tagged so remains could later be exhumed and handed over to families once their identities were confirmed.
Hospitals and morgues have struggled to cope as bodies swept downstream by the Bhotekoshi River floods continue to be recovered across different parts of the country.
Nepal has the capacity to store only around 350 bodies in morgues nationwide, creating an acute shortage of space as authorities attempt to preserve and identify the remains.
Victims from the flood-hit districts of Rasuwa and Nuwakot have been found hundreds of kilometres downstream. Chitwan, a major low-lying district, has recovered one of the highest numbers of bodies, with authorities forced to establish temporary storage facilities after local morgues became overwhelmed.
Authorities are managing the remains under Nepal’s Unidentified and Unclaimed Bodies Management Guidelines, 2021, which place responsibility for handling unidentified bodies with committees headed by district police chiefs. The government has also moved to amend the guidelines to deal with the unprecedented scale of the disaster.
Nepal Police said 1,068 bodies had been recovered by Tuesday evening, including around 400 consisting only of partial remains, making identification particularly difficult.
A 19-member Indian forensic team has meanwhile begun analysing DNA samples alongside Nepali experts to help identify victims and missing persons.
The team is working at the Nepal Police Central Forensic Science Laboratory and the National Forensic Science Laboratory in the Khumaltar area of Kathmandu Valley.
According to the Indian Embassy, the experts are assisting Nepali forensic specialists in accelerating DNA analysis from flood-affected areas as part of India’s support following the disaster.
The Nepal Police said the death toll had risen to 1,127 by Wednesday. Bodies have been recovered across several districts, including 348 in Chitwan, 217 in Nawalparasi East and 190 in Nawalparasi West.
Prime Minister Balen Shah said rescue operations remained the government’s top priority, with 11,993 people rescued so far. However, 3,916 people remain missing as search and recovery efforts continue.
The disaster has left authorities facing the grim task of recovering, identifying and burying hundreds of victims while families wait for answers about loved ones still missing.
