Kathmandu [Nepal], August 31 – Nepal has buried 199 unidentified bodies recovered after the catastrophic flash floods in Rasuwa district after preserving their DNA samples for future identification, officials said.
The bodies were recovered from different locations in Chitwan following the flash floods that struck Rasuwa on August 26. The unidentified remains were buried at the Devghat forest area in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-1 by Monday night.
The burial was carried out under Nepal’s “Directive on Management of Unidentified Bodies and Unattended Dead Bodies (First Amendment), 2083.”
Chitwan District Police Office Chief Superintendent of Police, Rameshwor Paudel said 272 bodies had been recovered in the district. Of these 12 have been identified and handed over to their relatives while 199 unidentified bodies were buried.
The remaining bodies were managed according to identification procedures, officials said.
Of the 272 bodies recovered, 110 were men, 62 were women, seven were infant boys and six were infant girls. The remaining 87 consisted of body parts and other mortal remains.
Authorities have preserved DNA samples and other identifying marks from the buried remains to facilitate identification in the future.
Under the directive if relatives or heirs of a deceased person are identified later the buried body or remains can be exhumed and handed over to the family for final rites after DNA matching.
The provision requires authorities to exhume and respectfully hand over the remains to the concerned family if the deceased is identified at a later stage.
