Kathmandu, October 13
DNA tests have shown preliminary matches between the remains of around 250 people killed in the Rasuwa floods and samples provided by their relatives. Further examinations are underway to confirm their identities and facilitate the handover of the bodies to their families.
Nirajan Thapa, chief of the DNA division at the National Forensic Science Laboratory, said an integrated analysis of test data from Nepal Police and the laboratory had identified potential matches for around 250 people. However, he stressed that the figure was preliminary and not a confirmed count of identified victims.
“Software screening has indicated DNA matches for around 250 people. However, two or three bone fragments belonging to the same person may have been found in different locations and tested separately. We need to compare the records file by file to establish the actual number,” Thapa told Onlinekhabar.
More than 5,000 people are reported missing following the devastating floods in the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa. According to the latest figures cited in the report, 1,457 bodies have been recovered. Of these, only 112 have been identified and handed over to relatives. The remaining 1,345 unidentified bodies have been buried.
Further verification needed before identification
Thapa said detailed testing and record verification were underway for samples that had shown preliminary matches. Investigators must compare information provided by families about missing relatives, blood samples submitted for DNA testing and details recorded by forensic doctors during post-mortem examinations.
So far, testing has focused on first-degree relationships, such as those between fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, and mothers and sons. Further testing may be required using samples from siblings, depending on the circumstances.
“The number seen at present is preliminary. Every file must be examined separately. Even when DNA appears to match, we cannot immediately conclude that a particular body belongs to a particular person,” Thapa said.
DNA testing alone is not sufficient to identify disaster victims. Dental records, fingerprints, post-mortem findings and DNA results must be analysed together.
A Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team has been formed under the disaster management framework to coordinate this process. Led by forensic doctors, the team will compare evidence from different sources before confirming the identities of the deceased.
Once an identity is established, the team will issue the necessary death documentation and initiate the process of handing over the body to the family. The laboratory report, post-mortem findings and other evidence must be reviewed collectively before a body is released.
Fewer than half of the families have provided blood samples
The number of blood samples collected from relatives remains less than half the estimated number of missing people.
Although more than 5,000 people are believed to be missing, only around 2,000 relatives have provided blood samples for DNA testing.
“Samples have not been received from the families of everyone who went missing. Some families have already performed funeral rites in their own way, even without recovering the bodies. As a result, not everyone has returned to provide samples,” Thapa said.
He added that the number of matches identified so far was limited because samples had been collected from only around 2,000 relatives.
Since many bodies were not recovered intact, different body parts belonging to the same person may also have been tested as separate samples.
“The number of bodies and the number of samples from relatives are not equal. Some families have not provided samples at all. Therefore, we cannot say that the current testing will identify everyone who is missing,” Thapa said.
Software helps identify possible family relationships
Experts are using advanced software to compare DNA samples from unidentified remains with those provided by relatives.
The system ranks possible relationships between an unidentified DNA sample and samples from family members. Separate databases are maintained for DNA collected from relatives of missing people and DNA obtained from recovered remains.
The software compares the samples and calculates which relatives are most likely to be connected to an unidentified person. Experts then conduct statistical analyses of possible family relationships, including those involving parents and siblings, before reaching a conclusion.
According to Thapa, the process uses the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), software developed by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and used in criminal investigations for identification and familial searching.
Fingerprints collected from around 300 bodies
Authorities are also gathering other forms of evidence to identify the deceased.
Nepal Police spokesperson Abinarayan Kafle said fingerprints had been collected from around 300 bodies. Police are attempting to match them with records previously submitted by the deceased to government agencies.
For Nepali citizens, investigators are checking available records, including those held for national identity cards. For foreign nationals, they are comparing the fingerprints with records collected by immigration authorities.
However, no body has been identified through fingerprint matching so far.
“We have collected fingerprints from around 300 people. We are checking whether they match records previously provided by the individuals to any agency, but we have not yet received a result confirming that a particular body’s fingerprints match a particular person,” Kafle said.
A successful fingerprint match could help support the identification process alongside DNA testing. For now, DNA analysis and final verification remain central to identifying the victims.
Kafle said authorities would establish identities only after jointly analysing DNA results, fingerprints, dental records and information obtained from post-mortem examinations.
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