83 Unidentified Flood Victims Buried in Pokhara After DNA Sampling
Dragon Media Correspondent
Eighty-three unidentified bodies brought to Pokhara from flood-affected districts have been buried after DNA samples were collected and necessary records completed.
A total of 102 bodies had been brought to Pokhara from Tanahun, Gorkha, Dhading and East Nawalparasi. Of them, 19 have so far been identified.
The remaining 83 bodies were buried in a forest area near the Seti canal in Pokhara Metropolitan City-16 after DNA samples were collected and individual identification tags were attached.
Authorities are managing unidentified bodies recovered from different flood-affected districts by preserving DNA samples, photographs and other identifying records before burial.
The process is intended to make future identification possible if DNA samples provided by relatives match those preserved from the bodies.
Identification has become particularly difficult because floodwaters carried bodies far from the disaster area into different districts. Some were also recovered in severely damaged condition, making visual identification impossible and increasing reliance on DNA testing.
