Weeks after Nepal flood, thousands still missing and most recovered bodies unidentified
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People look at photographs of missing people on a wall outside Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital following the deadly flash floods and mudslide, in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 16, 2026. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar
NEW DELHI, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Nepali authorities said on Wednesday that only about 7% of the bodies recovered after the devastating flood have been identified, underscoring the scale of the work involved in helping thousands of families find out the fate of loved ones.
Weeks after the torrent of mud, rocks and water was unleashed by a glacial collapse, relatives continue to seek answers from authorities as hopes of finding survivors fade.
About 5,200 people remain missing, including 636 foreigners, after the disaster swept through mountain communities and hydropower sites, killing at least 1,399 people, Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
The agency said it collected DNA samples from 1,206 bodies and 1,889 samples from family members of the missing.
Despite that, overall only 105 bodies have been identified and handed to family members, it added.
Authorities have deployed thermal drones and helicopters in the search and brought in specialists to rescue workers trapped in tunnels.
The search for the missing has led to a few remarkable rescues of people trapped in tunnels of Nepal's hydropower plants.
But the once regular flow of information about the rescue effort has slowed, families of foreign nationals said.
"Narrow airspace, difficult geographical mountainous terrain and scale of debris deposited are the major challenges on locating the missing," the department said.
It added that it was providing regular updates to embassies and families through direct and indirect channels.
(Reporting by Aftab Ahmed in New Delhi; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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