Floods in Nepal: Identifying Hundreds of Victims Complicated by the Condition of the Bodies

Nepalese authorities have begun opening graves for hundreds of unidentified victims, as the deteriorating condition of the bodies is making it increasingly difficult to determine their identities.

Decomposition has advanced, while severe injuries in many cases have made recognition through physical features impossible. Police officer Anil Thapa told Reuters that many bodies no longer have recognizable faces, while in some cases only hands, feet or other body parts have been found.

Thapa also said that in a large number of cases, a significant portion of the head is missing, further complicating the identification process.

Before burial, teams are trying to collect and preserve every piece of information that could be useful to families. The bodies are photographed, DNA samples are taken from them, and all possible data that could help with identification is recorded.

Authorities hope that this information will give families the opportunity to discover the identities of their relatives even after burial.

More than 100 unidentified bodies were buried the previous day, while preparations have now begun for the graves of hundreds of other victims. The number of unidentified bodies continues to rise, and their condition is making the work of police and forensic teams increasingly difficult.

Authorities in Nepal are documenting every body before burial so that identification will remain possible in the future if relatives provide information or samples that can be matched with the victims’ DNA.