Nepal Floods: India Sends Forensic Team To Help Identify Victims Through DNA

Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava met members of the Indian Forensic Team deployed to Nepal. The team will work alongside their Nepali counterparts in analysing DNA samples to assist in identifying the mortal remains of the victims of the recent flash floods, Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal announced.

This comes as almost 537 workers and employees remained unaccounted for at nine hydropower projects in Nepal’s flood-hit Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, with rescue teams intensifying efforts to reach people believed trapped inside tunnels blocked by mud and debris.

Why Has India Sent A Forensic Team To Nepal?

Srivastava said that India will continue to strongly support the ongoing relief efforts of Nepal. He said that the members of Indian Forensic Team that arrived on 4th relief flight to Kathmandu will be working with their Nepali counterparts to support the analysis of DNA samples of those who lost their lives in the tragic flash flood in Rasuwa.

India's Relief Operation In Nepal

India has already sent relief supplies to Nepal, while the country has requested further assistance with forensic laboratories and rapid DNA testing to help identify more than 600 bodies recovered after the devastating flash floods.

Nepal's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shisir Khanal, on Sunday said, "We are seeking additional support for forensic laboratories. We have found more than 600 bodies, many of them in very difficult conditions to identify. We need to conduct rapid DNA analysis, so we are seeking that kind of support and are actively engaged," as quoted by ANI.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said earlier in the day that the fourth flight from India has reached Kathmandu carrying relief operations.

In a post on X, he said, “The fourth Indian flight has touched down in Kathmandu. It brings essential supplies and technical capabilities to support Nepal’s ongoing rescue & relief operations.”

The death toll from flash floods in Nepal rose to 768 on Sunday, with more bodies being recovered, even as more than 2,500 people are still missing. Bodies have been recovered from eight affected districts as rescuers race against time to search for those missing and rescue those stranded on the fifth day since the disaster, as per PTI.

An ice-rock avalanche following a glacial collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border sent a torrent of water, mud and debris downstream, wiping out towns and villages, damaging crucial infrastructure and washing away hydropower stations through northern and central Nepal on August 26.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said the death toll of the tragedy has surged to 768.

So far, 264 bodies were recovered from Chitawan district, 194 from Nawalparasi East, 100 from Nawalparasi West, 58 from Gorkha, 50 from Dhading, 52 from Nuwakot, 37 from Tanahu and 13 from Rasuwa, officials said.