Nepal Floods: Morgues ‘Overcrowded’, Identification Process Difficult
KATHMANDU: Morgues in Nepal are running out of space following the continuous discovery of bodies swept far downstream by the devastating Bhotekoshi flash floods.
The situation has forced authorities to set up temporary facilities and transfer bodies to nearby districts, local media reported on Friday.
According to The Kathmandu Post, bodies from Rasuwa and Nuwakot have been found in downstream areas in Chitwan, Tanahun and Nawalparasi, thereby burdening body storage facilities and complicating identification efforts.
In Chitwan, a total of 137 bodies were found along the Trishuli and Narayani rivers as of Thursday morning, a number far exceeding the district morgue’s capacity, which can only hold between 30 and 50 bodies.
Chitwan District Officer Ganesh Aryal said an unused building of the Industrial Enterprise Development Institute in Bharatpur is being converted into a temporary body storage facility capable of holding about 250 bodies.
“The facility will use air conditioning and dry ice to slow down the decomposition process,” he said, as quoted by The Kathmandu Post.
Facilities in Pokhara are also operating beyond capacity after receiving 93 bodies from Tanahun, Gorkha, East Nawalparasi and Dhading.
Kaski District Officer Kuman Singh Gurung said all hospitals in the district can collectively hold 88 bodies, including five that were already stored before the flood incident.
“For now, we have managed to accommodate that number. If more bodies arrive, we will need to coordinate with nearby districts,” he said.
Pokhara Health Sciences Academy information officer Sushil Aryal said the bodies are stored at temperatures between two and six degrees Celsius and can only be preserved for a period of 10 days to two weeks.
Meanwhile, family members of missing victims have begun arriving in Chitwan from several districts, carrying photographs and seeking information following the discovery of more bodies.
Kaski Police Chief Superintendent of Police Nabin Karki said police are taking photographs of bodies, fingerprints and DNA samples to assist the identification process.
Photographs of victims whose faces are still recognisable are also being circulated to help families identify their loved ones.
“If relatives cannot be traced or bodies cannot be identified, we cannot keep them for a long period as fingerprints and DNA samples have already been taken earlier,” said Karki.
Authorities are coordinating with local agencies to designate suitable burial sites for unidentified bodies.
The death toll from the massive floods has risen to 475, with hundreds more still missing while search and rescue teams comb rivers and downstream areas to locate survivors and recover bodies.
The disaster has swept away houses, bridges and roads, leaving several communities and trekkers cut off.
The full scale of the disaster has yet to be fully ascertained as authorities collate data on casualties and missing persons from the affected districts, reported The Kathmandu Post.
BERNAMA