Nepal struggles to store and identify bodies carried downstream by devastating flood
Summary
Bodies swept away by the Bhotekoshi flood are turning up downstream across multiple districts, overwhelming morgues in Chitwan, Pokhara, Nawalparasi and Dhading. Authorities are setting up temporary storage facilities, collecting DNA samples and coordinating with neighbouring districts to identify the dead.
Key Points
- Bodies from the Bhotekoshi flood have been recovered as far downstream as Chitwan, Tanahun, Nawalparasi and Pokhara, overwhelming local morgues.
- Chitwan authorities are converting an unused building in Bharatpur into a temporary body storage centre for about 250 bodies.
- Police are photographing bodies, taking fingerprints and DNA samples, and planning secure burial sites for unidentified remains.
- Several districts, including Gorkha, Nawalparasi and Dhading, are sending bodies to other hospitals and cities because of limited morgue space.
