Nepal flood victims' identities disputed as families wait for DNA tests

Three families initially claimed the same flood victim's body at a Pokhara hospital. The dispute has exposed how difficult identification has become as bodies surface far downstream.Three families initially claimed the same body at a hospital in Pokhara after Nepal’s devastating floods, underlining the growing difficulty of identifying victims as bodies are recovered far from where people went missing. The dispute over Body No. 1003 has now been referred for DNA testing.The August 26 floods have left hundreds dead and thousands missing. As bodies are brought to hospitals downstream, relatives are being asked to identify them through photographs, physical features and belongings. According to reports, 102 bodies recovered from Gorkha, Tanahun, Dhading and Nawalparasi East districts had been brought to Pokhara by Monday. Of these, 16 had been identified and handed over to relatives, while 87 had undergone postmortem examinations by Monday morning. Police had also collected DNA samples from relatives of five families because of disputed claims.According to Nepal News, Body No. 1003 at Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences was claimed by the families of Gopal Dahit, a hydropower worker from Bardiya, and Damodar Basyal, a tourist guide from Rupandehi. A third family had also initially claimed the same body. The two families still disputing the identity have agreed to undergo DNA testing.For the Dahit family, the search began after Gopal, who had gone to Rasuwa to work at a hydropower project, went missing in the flood. The Kathmandu Post reported that his sister, Manji Tharu, and other relatives travelled from Bardiya to Gaindakot, where they were shown photographs of recovered bodies and identified Body No. 1003 as Gopal. They then travelled to Pokhara to take him home, but before they could collect the body, Basyal’s relatives also claimed it. Basyal’s family said several physical features matched their missing relative, while Dahit’s family said the body’s teeth, forehead, lips, hands, chest and face matched Gopal, the newspaper reported. Nepal News said police had already collected DNA from recovered bodies, but matching the samples could take one to one-and-a-half months because of the volume of testing being handled by the Nepal Police Laboratory and the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology laboratory.At Pokhara, relatives have been gathering at the hospital to examine photographs of unidentified bodies, checking facial features, body structure, teeth, ears, lips and other distinctive marks, Nepal News reported. In another case, a family identified a five-year-old boy through the belongings he was wearing. The Kathmandu Post reported that Raj Kumar Tamang of Bidur, Nuwakot, identified the body of his son Prince from a school tie, necklace and earring after seeing photographs of recovered bodies on the Nepal Police website. Prince had gone to school in his uniform before disappearing when the Trishuli flooded. His body was later recovered from the Narayani River in Nawalparasi, far downstream from the flood-hit area. The tie carried the name of Uttargaya Secondary School in Bidur, where Prince was an LKG student, the report said. In another identification, Satya Krishna Prajapati of Bhaktapur recognised the body of his elder brother, Satya Sundar Prajapati, from a tattoo on his shoulder, according to The Kathmandu Post. Satya Sundar had been working as a site engineer at the under-construction Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project in Rasuwa, and his remains were taken back to Kathmandu on Friday.The challenge has been made worse by the condition of many of the remains. At Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, The Rising Nepal reported on Monday that 94 bodies had been brought in. Forty-eight had undergone autopsies, 37 were awaiting examination and only nine had been identified and handed over to families. In Chitwan district, Radio Nepal reported that 272 bodies were recovered, but only 12 had been identified. Authorities had buried 199 unidentified bodies after preserving DNA samples and other identifying information.The cases show how families searching for missing relatives are often relying on a photograph, a piece of jewellery, a tattoo or another small identifying mark. Where those clues are not enough, they must wait for forensic evidence to confirm the identity of their loved ones.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 31, 2026 20:32 IST