tarali 
The death toll is increasing every day, with hundreds of bodies now filling hospital morgues. In the wake of a severe shortage of space in the morgues, hundreds of unidentified bodies are now having to be buried in the middle of the jungle.
After the catastrophic disaster caused by the recent flash floods in the mountainous country of Nepal, the administration has started a process of burying the unidentified bodies recovered from the banks of the Trishuli and Narayani rivers in a special manner in a protected forest in Chitwan. To ensure that families can identify and reclaim the bodies of their loved ones in the future, the rescue team is collecting DNA samples from each body and using a specific code number, following the International Red Cross protocol.
According to a government official present at the spot in Nepal, out of the bodies recovered from the river banks from Fishling to Ghumghat and Tribeni, 6 have already been identified and handed over to their families. However, due to lack of space in cold storage or morgues to keep the large number of remaining bodies, a decision has been taken for scientific burial in the ground.
Each body has been tagged with a special indelible identification tag on the hand or leg, bearing serial codes like ‘BHF-01’, ‘BHF-02’, etc. Moreover, the locations have been preserved through GPS mapping and concrete pillars with numbers have been built on top, so that if the DNA matches, family members can easily identify and take custody of the bodies.
According to the latest data from Nepal Police, till 3 pm on Sunday, 788 bodies of people killed due to the floods have been recovered. Of these, the highest number is in Chitwan district with 264, followed by 194 in East Nawalparasi and 120 in West Nawalparasi.
On the other hand, according to the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, 2,502 people are still missing. 20,000 security personnel have been deployed for the rescue operation and 3,081 people have been shifted to safer places by helicopter. The administration has appealed to the families of the missing persons to submit DNA samples at the district hospitals.
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