Flood death toll challenge: Nepal moves to bury 229 unidentified bodies
KUALA LUMPUR: Authorities in Nepal’s Chitwan district began burying 229 unidentified bodies on Saturday due to public health risks from decomposition, following Wednesday’s devastating floods in Rasuwa.
The District Security Committee said 233 bodies had been recovered from the disaster so far, of which only four had been identified.
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The bodies and human remains recovered from riverbanks and kept at various facilities had decomposed to the point that visual identification was no longer possible, it said, according to The Kathmandu Post.
Health experts have warned that further decomposition and the foul odour from the remains could increase the risk of infections and disease outbreaks.
The committee decided on Saturday to bury all the unidentified and unclaimed bodies under the Unidentified and Unclaimed Bodies Management (First Amendment) Directive, 2026, as an emergency measure to prevent further decomposition and ensure their safe, dignified and lawful disposal.
DNA samples will be collected from all the bodies before burial and records will be maintained using identification numbers, according to the decision.
The burial site is an open area in Devghat, Ward 1, of Bharatpur Metropolitan City.
Anil Thapa, an inspector with Chitwan police, said each body had been assigned a unique identification number, with a tag attached to a steel plate, so that relatives could exhume the remains once a DNA match is confirmed.
