Nepal Buries Unidentified Flood Victims Amid Morgue Shortages

Nepal's struggle to cope with the aftermath of devastating floods has been compounded by a severe shortage of morgue space. With over 600 victims still unidentified, authorities have resorted to burying the deceased individually after collecting DNA samples. This measure is crucial to prevent the spread of disease due to the advanced state of decomposition of many bodies.

The national morgue capacity, which can hold only about 350 bodies, was quickly overwhelmed by the influx of casualties from districts like Chitwan, Pokhara, and Nuwakot. In Chitwan, only four out of 233 recovered bodies could be identified, prompting local administration to order individual burials for all remaining remains, each assigned an official reference number.

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The bodies and remains recovered from shelters, health institutions, and riverbanks are in an advanced state of decomposition and can no longer be identified.

Officials stated that many bodies are beyond visual identification, having been carried for kilometers by the violent river currents. To aid in the identification process, Nepal Police launched a digital catalog accessible via QR codes on social media. This platform allows families of the more than 2,500 missing persons to search for relatives by comparing faces, clothing, and physical features.

Hospitals have become hubs for hundreds of families desperately seeking information about their missing loved ones. Photographs of the missing are displayed on projectors and external murals within medical centers in an attempt to match them with the recovered bodies. However, with the collapse of traditional identification methods and the impossibility of preserving the remains indefinitely, authorities are prioritizing DNA collection and fingerprinting for unclaimed bodies before proceeding with burial.

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It is well understood and accepted that in this era, critical thinking is an important element, but even more so, the way we go about teaching and passing on information has to be changed within this current paradigm. The mentorship programme is an example of this change; we anticipate that our mentors will not just pass on broad knowledge but will assist in developing the type of attitude that is needed for success within the CSP.