An algorithm is trying to put names to Nepal’s flood dead
Summary
A digital facial-recognition system is being used to help identify victims and missing people after the Bhotekoshi river floods in Nepal. Police say DNA testing remains the final confirmation method as hundreds of bodies and remains still await identification.
Key Points
- FaceTagr is being deployed to match photos of missing people with images of unidentified flood victims and narrow the results for families and authorities.
- Police say 1,367 bodies and human remains have been recovered from flood-affected areas, but only 102 have been identified so far.
- A total of 2,570 DNA samples have been collected, while several foreign forensic experts are assisting Nepali authorities.
- Nepal Police and the technology team say digital identification can help, but badly decomposed or dismembered bodies still require DNA confirmation.
