Nepal to bury unidentified bodies after preserving DNA samples; heres how they can be identified later

PTC News Desk: Nepal has announced that it will begin burying unidentified and unclaimed bodies recovered after the devastating flash floods that hit the country this week. Authorities said the decision was taken because the bodies are decomposing and could pose a health risk.

So far, at least 734 bodies have been recovered after a massive wave of water and mud swept through villages and towns on Wednesday morning. Chitwan, a southern district bordering India, has reported the highest number of recoveries, with 233 bodies.

Authorities in Chitwan decided on Saturday to bury the bodies after hospitals faced a shortage of space and proper facilities to store them. Health experts also warned that the decomposition of bodies and the strong smell from temporary storage arrangements could increase the risk of infections.

DNA samples being collected

Officials are collecting DNA samples from the bodies before burial to help identify them later.

Each body is being given a unique identification or reference number, along with details of the location where it was found. This will allow families to locate and recover the remains if a DNA match is established in the future.

By Saturday afternoon, DNA profiling of more than 100 bodies had been completed, and those bodies were ready for burial.

"As the number of dead bodies piled up, we used a house as a cooling centre where the bodies were kept," an official said.

"As the house also ran out of space, we had no alternative but to bury them," the official added.

Burial pits dug 1.5 metres deep

Authorities are digging burial pits around 1.5 metres deep so the bodies can be safely exhumed later if they are identified.

A gap of about 40 centimetres is being kept between individual bodies to ensure that the correct remains can be recovered after a DNA match.

Families searching for missing relatives will be able to provide their DNA samples at hospitals across Nepal. Once the test results are available, health officials will compare them with samples collected from the unidentified bodies.

If a match is found, officials will identify the corresponding body number. Police records will then be used to locate the exact burial site. The remains can subsequently be exhumed and handed over to the family.

Police have also published details of unidentified and unclaimed bodies on a website to help families search for their missing relatives.

रसुवा जिल्ला भोटेकोशीमा आएको बाढीबाट प्रभावित "पहिचान नखुलेका तथा बेवारिसे शव" सम्बन्धी विवरणहरूका लागि QR Scan वा https://t.co/pnKPe51ZdI हेर्न सक्नुहुन्छ ।#नेपालप्रहरी #NepalPolice #BelieveInBlue #ToServeandProtect pic.twitter.com/o8OqgBGhr6

— Nepal Police (@NepalPoliceHQ) August 29, 2026