TRISHULI: Nepal Police has established a DNA sample collection center in Nuwakot to help identify people missing in the Bhotekoshi River flood.
Previously, family members of missing people from Rasuwa and Nuwakot had to travel to Kathmandu to provide DNA samples. To ease the burden on flood-affected families, a sample collection center has now been established in Bidur, according to Deputy Inspector General of Police Dr. Damodar Paudel.
He said collecting DNA samples from relatives of missing people would help authorities identify bodies recovered from flood-affected areas.
“Following reports that several people from Nuwakot and Rasuwa went missing in the floods, DNA testing has been initiated to identify the recovered bodies by collecting samples from their family members,” Dr. Paudel said.
The Nepal Police Hospital in Maharajgunj has established the collection center in Bidur so that families can provide DNA samples without having to travel to Kathmandu.
According to Paudel, 2,564 missing-person reports have been registered in Nuwakot in connection with the floods in the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers.
Of the bodies recovered so far, 192 were found in Nuwakot, of which only 18 have been identified, police said.
The remaining unidentified bodies will be handed over to their respective families once their identities are confirmed. Police said DNA testing procedures have been expedited to speed up the identification process.
Comment