On August 29, authorities in Nepal’s Chitwan district began the burial of 229 unidentified bodies due to public health risks associated with decomposing remains, following devastating floods in Rasuwa.
The District Security Committee stated that 233 bodies have been recovered from the disaster zone so far, with only four identified, NST Online reports.
According to media outlets, the bodies and human remains retrieved from riverbanks, stored in various facilities, have decomposed to a point where visual identification is no longer possible.
Public health experts warn that further decomposition and the stench from the remains could increase the risk of infections and disease outbreaks.
After assessing the situation, the committee decided to bury all unidentified and unclaimed bodies in accordance with the Unidentified and Unclaimed Bodies Management Directive (First Amendment) of 2026, as an emergency measure to prevent further decomposition and ensure their safe, dignified, and lawful burial.
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DNA samples will be collected from all bodies before burial.
Anil Thapa, an inspector with the Chitwan police, informed that each body has been assigned a unique identification number with a steel plate tag, enabling relatives to exhume the remains after DNA matching is confirmed.
Meanwhile, the Nepali government has requested “specific and specialized assistance” from neighboring countries for search and rescue operations, The Guardian reports.
This includes help with clearing tunnels where people are trapped, technologies to locate survivors in affected areas, rapid forensic examination and DNA analysis, and morgues for proper body storage.
A specialized 11-member technical intelligence team from India has been mobilized for tunnel rescue operations, and a tunnel rescue specialist team from China is also expected to arrive shortly.
Nepal’s National Disaster Management Authority reports that the death toll in Nepal has risen to 669. Including seven confirmed deaths in Tibet, where information is under strict control by Chinese authorities, the total number of fatalities from the disaster reaches 676. The number of missing persons has increased to nearly 3,000: 2,426 in Nepal and 554 in Tibet.
According to preliminary scientific studies, the flood was likely caused by a massive chunk of glacier breaking off and temporarily damming the river. Researchers believe this could have led to the accumulated water gushing downstream with immense force hours later. The glacier’s detachment was triggered by a magnitude 5.2 earthquake.
We remind you that a family of four millionaires residing in Surrey, UK, including the holder of the “Mrs. India Great Britain” title, went missing in Nepal. A total of 33 tourists from the UK are unaccounted for.
It was also reported that among the missing in Nepal are 56 Ukrainians. Hundreds of foreign nationals from 31 countries are missing in total from the floods.