Archive · 4 Sep 2026
Karnataka Hospital to Collect DNA from Nepal Flood Victims’ Kin
Floods in Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region caused many people to go missing.
Some recovered bodies cannot be identified using photographs or other details.
Karnataka will collect DNA from close relatives of missing people from the state.
Parents, children and spouses can provide samples.
They must bring a recent photograph, identity proof and documents showing their relationship.
Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in Bengaluru will check the relatives and collect the samples.
Karnataka’s forensic laboratory will compare the DNA profiles with information from Nepal.
This may help identify the dead and return their remains to their families.
Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in Bengaluru has been designated Karnataka’s nodal centre for DNA sample collection.
Samples will be collected from first-degree relatives of Karnataka residents missing after August 26 flash floods in Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Parents, children and spouses must provide photographs, government-issued identity documents and proof of relationship.
The State Forensic Science Laboratory will prepare profiles for comparison with those generated by Nepalese authorities.
About 13 people from Karnataka remain untraced, while Nepal reported 1,282 deaths and more than 4,700 missing people.
- Who
- The Karnataka Government, Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, the State Forensic Science Laboratory and first-degree relatives of missing Karnataka residents are involved.
- What
- DNA samples will be collected and profiled to help identify bodies recovered after the floods.
- When
- The designation was announced on Friday; the flash floods were triggered on August 26.
- Where
- Samples will be collected at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in Bengaluru, Karnataka, for comparison with profiles from Nepal.
- Why
- Photographs and other available details have not been sufficient to identify some bodies, so DNA matching is needed to establish identities and facilitate repatriation.
- DNA collection centre
- Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, Bengaluru
- Eligible relatives
- Parents, children and spouses of missing persons
- Required documents
- Recent passport-size photograph, government-issued identity document such as an Aadhaar card, and proof of relationship
- Testing facility
- Karnataka State Forensic Science Laboratory
- Karnataka residents untraced
- About 13
- Nepal disaster figures
- 1,282 deaths and more than 4,700 people missing, according to the Friday report
- Flood trigger
- An ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26
