Archive · 31 Aug 2026
Nepal Buries Unidentified Flood Victims, Preserving DNA for Identification
Floods in Nepal caused many deaths and left thousands of people missing.
Some bodies were found along the Trishuli and Narayani riverbanks.
Hospitals did not have enough room to keep all the unidentified bodies.
Officials are burying them carefully in a forest in Chitwan.
Before burial, they collect DNA from each body.
Families of missing people can give DNA samples at district hospitals.
Officials will compare the samples to find matches later.
Each body is marked and mapped so it can be found and returned to a family if identified.
Chitwan authorities are burying unidentified flood victims in a forest after morgues ran out of space.
DNA samples and identification records are being collected before each body is buried.
Bodies are placed separately with coded tags, markers, photographs, videos and GPS records.
Six recovered bodies have been identified and handed over to their families.
Nepal Police reported 788 recovered bodies and 2,502 missing people as of Sunday.
- Who
- Chitwan authorities, disaster relief teams and Nepalese security personnel are handling the recovered bodies and recovery operations.
- What
- Authorities are burying unidentified flood victims after collecting DNA samples and preparing identification records.
- When
- The operation was ongoing when Nepal Police reported figures as of 3 pm on Sunday, while the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority reported missing-person figures as of 1 pm.
- Where
- The bodies were recovered along the Trishuli and Narayani riverbanks and are being buried in a secured forest area in Chitwan.
- Why
- Morgues lacked sufficient space, and the burial process is intended to manage decomposed bodies while preserving the possibility of future identification and recovery.
- Recovered bodies
- Nepal Police reported 788 bodies recovered as of 3 pm on Sunday.
- Missing people
- Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority reported 2,502 people missing as of 1 pm.
- Chitwan deaths
- Chitwan reported 264 deaths, the highest number among the listed affected districts.
- Identified victims
- Six bodies recovered from the riverbanks had already been handed over to their families.
- Identification method
- DNA is collected from each unidentified body and can be compared with samples from relatives.
- Burial records
- Authorities are using identification tags, unique codes, photographs, videos and GPS coordinates to document the graves.
- Recovery operations
- Three bodies remained near the riverbank while disaster relief teams continued working.
