Nepal to bury 229 unidentified bodies as flood death toll mounts

Nepal authorities have decided to bury 229 unidentified and unclaimed bodies recovered in southern Chitwan district following the devastating floods in the BhoteKoshi river, citing the risk of infection and the deteriorating condition of the remains.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), a total of 626 bodies recovered from the floods had been collected as of Saturday at 10 a.m. The highest number — 233 — were recovered in Chitwan, it said.

As the number of bodies brought in following the massive floods of August 26 continued to rise, Chitwan district has been struggling to prevent the corpses from decomposing due to a lack of adequate space and facilities at hospitals in the district.

After health experts warned that the increasing decomposition and foul smell from the bodies, which had been kept under temporary arrangements, could increase the risk of infection and the spread of an epidemic, the District Security Committee, Chitwan, on Saturday decided to bury all the unidentified and unclaimed bodies.

The District Administration Office, Chitwan, said in a notice that the unclaimed bodies would be buried in an open area in Devghat, in Ward No. 1 of Bharatpur Metropolitan City, beginning Saturday.

The Nepali authorities said that the DNA samples would be collected from all the bodies before burial and records would be maintained using identification or reference numbers to facilitate possible identification in the future.

A senior official at the DAO said hospitals in Chitwan have adequate facilities to keep only around 30 bodies for a prolonged period at a time.

"As the number of dead bodies piled up, we used a house as a cooling centre where the bodies were kept", the official said. "As the house also ran out of space, we had no alternative but to bury them."

The official said the burial process would follow international guidelines and comply with the necessary provisions under the Unidentified and Unclaimed Bodies Management (First Amendment) Directive, 2083.

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