Nepal starts mass burials for flood victims who are not identified as families search for missing

Chitwan, a district in Nepal known for its rivers and forests, is now the site of mass graves for unidentified victims, whose bodies had been swept away days earlier by a torrent which devastated the Himalayan area.

Authorities have dug hundreds of graves in Chitwan’s Devghat Forest, located on the plains and nearly 200 km from the flood-ravaged valleys?of Rasuwa, where the disaster struck Wednesday.

The forest trails used to be a popular place for early morning walks. Now, they are used as temporary graves for corpses that have become too decomposed to identify.

We had no choice but to act. "We were concerned about the danger to public health that the rapid decomposition posed," said Ganesh Arya. Chief district officer in Baratpur, Chitwan.

The authorities buried 96 bodies unidentified in the forest Saturday, and plan to bury another 100 on Sunday. Recovery teams are still removing victims from rivers and piles.

A flash flood caused by a collapsed glacier in Nepal has killed more than?750 and left over 3,000 people missing.

Around 100 rescue workers, police officers, and other officials helped document the dead by photographing remains, assisting relatives with identification, and preparing corpses for burial.

The authorities said that every grave site is carefully recorded with markers both above and beneath the ground and precise location data being logged.

The Nepali authorities collected DNA samples from unidentified bodies, which allowed them to exhume and locate remains in the event that victims were identified later by family claims, official records, or genetic testing.

India has already sent an forensic team to Nepal that will work with their Nepali colleagues in order to analyze DNA samples. Nepal is in contact with a Chinese team.

STENCH AND GRIM SCENES

The stench of decay was evident at the Bharatpur Hospital's gate. It was about 200 yards from a temporary mortuary where 50 police officers and staff handled the recovered bodies. Most were wearing basic surgical masks.

The officials briefly allowed a journalist to see the facility at the entrance.

Around 125 bodies were lying on the floor. Many showed advanced decomposition from days of flooding. The mortuary was designed to hold only 50 bodies.

"The bodies decay fast," said Inspector Anil Thapa, who oversees one of the facilities that handle the dead in the devastated district.

Thapa said that more than half of the corpses we've recovered are unrecognisable. Many of the bodies have no faces visible.

The Chitwan Expo Centre is only a few hundred meters away and has become the focal point of grieving families looking for missing family members.

Over 200 people gathered in front of a hall, where photos of the recovered bodies would be displayed for visual identification. The crowd was largely made up of backpacks and luggage which suggested that many had come from far-flung districts.

Families reported that they arrived the day before but were still denied entry to the hall.

A nearby single-storey home has been transformed into a temporary storage area for bodies that are awaiting identification.

Outside the building were three tents, including a Nepal Red Cross Helpdesk and an area for police registration. The odour was not relieved by the burning incense beneath the desks.

A police officer gave a mask to the reporter as he approached. Another told his colleagues to replenish their mask supply if they ran out.

The interior was dark and filled with bodies stacked up on bunk beds. Air conditioners, an industrial cooling unit and dry ice were placed near the entrances to try to slow down decomposition.

RECOVERY OPERATIONS ARE IN FULL SWING

A vehicle with 13 bodies arrived as recovery operations continued. Six ambulances had been parked in the parking lot by 10 am local time. Another vehicle was waiting for a space to unload.

Families waited in the cold outside to see if their loved ones had been found.

The constant arrival of bodies highlighted the magnitude of the disaster, and the challenges facing authorities in identifying the dead and providing answers to families who are still searching for missing family members.

It was obvious that the toll on those who handled the bodies.

Thapa, whose uniform was drenched in sweat, said: "I can't think of food once I get here to work." "I don't feel like eating. I even don't want to drink water."

(source: Reuters)