Nepal Floods: Morgues Run Out Of Space, Authorities Turn To DNA, Dry Ice And Tags

The bodies of people swept away by the Bhotekoshi flood are being recovered far downstream, creating a growing challenge for authorities struggling to store and identify the remains. The death toll had reached 538 by Friday afternoon, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

Bodies and human remains recovered from Rasuwa and Nuwakot have been found in Nuwakot and as far downstream as Chitwan, Tanahun, Nawalparasi and other districts. With morgues in Nuwakot, Dhading and Nawalparasi running out of space, some remains have been transported to neighbouring districts.

In Chitwan, where recoveries have exceeded hospital capacity, authorities are preparing a temporary body storage facility in Bharatpur. An unused building of the Industrial Enterprise Development Institute on Vidhyut Road in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-10 will be converted into the facility following a decision taken at a meeting chaired by Chief District Officer Ganesh Aryal on Thursday.

As of 9:30 am Thursday, 137 bodies had been recovered along the Chitwan stretch of the Trishuli and Narayani rivers, from Phishling to Golaghat, with recoveries continuing, The Kathmandu post reported. Hospitals in Chitwan can collectively accommodate only 30 to 50 bodies.

The temporary centre is expected to provide space for around 250 bodies. If that capacity is exceeded, authorities plan to use the electric crematorium at Devghat as an additional option. Bharatpur Metropolitan City will repair and equip the facility.

Authorities plan to control room temperatures, install air conditioners and use dry ice to slow decomposition. The Chitwan Association of Industries, Chitwan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Ratnanagar Chamber of Commerce and Industry have agreed to arrange the dry ice.

As bodies continue to be recovered, relatives of people missing since the floods have started arriving in Chitwan from Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Gorkha and other districts. Yaman Banu arrived seeking information about her two grandmothers, Sakala and Najabun Nisha, who lived in Trishuli Bazar in Nuwakot and have been missing since the flood.

Maya Baniya Khadka of Charkune in Palungtar-4, Gorkha, who had travelled to Gosainkunda on pilgrimage, is also missing. Her brothers, Krishna Bahadur and Hari Baniya, travelled to the temporary centre in Chitwan carrying her photograph and looking for information.

Relatives gathered at the site even as preparations for storing the bodies were still underway, hoping the facility would soon allow them to determine whether their missing family members were among those recovered. Morgues in Pokhara are also nearing capacity as bodies recovered downstream are being transported to the city from districts that lack sufficient storage facilities.

A total of 93 bodies have been brought to Pokhara from Tanahun, Gorkha, Nawalparasi East and Dhading. Kaski Chief District Officer Kuman Singh Gurung said hospitals in the district have a combined capacity of 88 bodies. The Pokhara Academy of Health Science can accommodate 72 bodies, while Nepal Manipal Teaching Hospital has space for eight.

Gandaki Medical College, Fishtail Hospital, Charak Memorial Hospital and Fewa City Hospital can each accommodate two. Five bodies were already in the morgues before the flood victims began arriving. Nine bodies were brought from Tanahun on Wednesday, followed by 41 from Nawalparasi East, 27 from Dhading and 11 from Gorkha on Thursday.