Two Families Claim the Same Body After Nepal Floods, Forcing DNA Test

A single unidentified body in Pokhara has been claimed by two Nepalese families, leaving DNA testing to resolve whether either has found a relative lost in last week’s floods.

The body, registered as number 1003, was recovered downstream after the Bhote Koshi flooded on Aug. 26. It was taken to Gandaki Hospital in Pokhara, where three families initially said they recognized one of the victims. One family withdrew its claim after examining the body’s teeth. The corpse had a complete set of teeth, while the missing person they were seeking had lost several.

The two remaining families continue to believe the body could be their missing relative. One is searching for Gopal Dahit, a worker who had moved to Rasuwa several months earlier for a hydroelectric project and disappeared during the flooding. His sister, Manji Tharu, traveled to Pokhara with five other relatives after hearing that a body possibly matching Gopal had been transferred there.

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I examined everything, the ears, the lips, the teeth, the whole body seems familiar to us.

“I examined everything, the ears, the lips, the teeth, the whole body seems familiar to us,” Tharu told Nepal News. The other family came from Rupandehi after seeing a photograph of body 1003 and believing it showed their younger brother. “It is my brother. We came to look for him. The photograph of body 1003 reached me through social media, and when I compared it with his, it looked very similar,” Radheshyam Basyal said.

Police have circulated photographs and physical descriptions of unidentified bodies, including details about faces, teeth, ears, lips, body shape and other distinguishing marks. But deterioration and multiple claims for the same victim have made genetic testing necessary for final identification.

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It is my brother. We came to look for him. The photograph of body 1003 reached me through social media, and when I compared it with his, it looked very similar.