Two weeks on, families wait for DNA answers
Summary
Families of people missing in the Bhotekoshi floods are waiting for DNA test results to identify recovered bodies, with more than 1,200 cases still unresolved. Nepal’s limited forensic capacity has been overwhelmed by the disaster, forcing authorities to bury unidentified remains while preserving samples for future matching.
Key Points
- More than two weeks after the Bhotekoshi floods, families are still searching for missing relatives and hoping DNA tests can identify recovered bodies.
- Nepal’s two DNA laboratories have been overwhelmed by more than 2,000 samples, far beyond their normal annual workload.
- Authorities have already buried hundreds of unidentified bodies after collecting post-mortem and DNA evidence to allow future identification.
- Foreign experts from India, China and South Korea are assisting Nepal’s forensic teams as the backlog grows.
