Authorities in Nepal continue to face significant challenges as they work to identify victims of the catastrophic floods triggered by a glacial and rock collapse along the Nepal-China border on August 26. The disaster produced a powerful surge of freezing water and debris that has devastated communities and left thousands missing.
As of early October, Nepali authorities have recovered 1,454 bodies, although approximately one-third of these consist only of partial remains. To date, just 112 deceased individuals have been positively identified and returned to their families. Meanwhile, an estimated 5,285 people remain unaccounted for in Nepal, with hundreds of foreigners among the missing. In neighboring China, the death toll stands at 43, with another 519 people reported missing. The combined figures bring the total fatalities close to 1,500, with nearly 5,800 people missing across both countries.
Nepal’s forensic teams are confronted with an overwhelming scale of work, managing thousands of DNA samples amid limited technical resources and manpower. The country’s two forensic laboratories, both located in Kathmandu, are processing more than 3,600 samples, including over 1,300 taken from recovered bodies. This volume far exceeds their usual annual workload, which typically involves 1,000 to 1,500 cases, mainly related to paternity or crime investigations.
“We are now processing thousands of samples,” said Mukul Pradhan, chief scientific officer at the National Forensic Science Laboratory, underscoring the unprecedented demands faced by the facilities. While blood samples can be analyzed relatively quickly, DNA extracted from teeth and bones requires several days to process.
The identification process is further complicated by the widespread dispersal of remains, some carried significant distances downstream by floodwaters. “In an earthquake or an accident, people are recovered in a specific area, so we work in a closed scenario. The body's DNA has to be compared to a limited number of samples,” explained Nirajan Thapa, Chief of the Biology section at the laboratory. “But that scale has now become very large.”
Another key difficulty is the need for DNA samples from relatives to confirm identities. “Just by extracting a DNA profile is not enough to identify someone. We have to extract a DNA profile from their relatives and then compare,” Thapa noted. This necessitates a dual effort to collect and analyze samples from both unidentified remains and thousands of family members.
Nepal has buried more than 1,200 bodies, tagging each carefully so they can be exhumed if future DNA matches are made. The process remains painstaking and time-consuming, especially given the emotional toll borne by the families of the missing.
Support from international teams has been essential. India, China, and South Korea have sent assistance, while fingerprint experts from the United States and Singapore are also contributing to identification efforts. With this aid, authorities anticipate that the DNA matching process may gain momentum in the coming weeks.
Among those awaiting answers is Rajesh Ram, a father from Betrawati who lost contact with his son, a garage mechanic, when the floods struck. Clutching a photograph, he said, “I am waiting if I can find any remains of my son,” reflecting the anguish experienced by thousands seeking closure after the disaster.