Camille Naredo

Health workers carry a dead body inside a mortuary in the aftermath of flash floods, in Bharatpur of Nepal's Chitwan district on August 30, 2026. Prakash Mathema, AFP

Health workers carry a dead body inside a mortuary in the aftermath of flash floods, in Bharatpur of Nepal's Chitwan district on August 30, 2026. The number of people missing in the catastrophic flood that sliced through the border area between Nepal and Tibet neared 3,000 on August 30, as rescuers scoured deep, leg-sucking mud for survivors. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP)

Article (news)

NEPAL

BHÂRATPUR, Nepal — Distraught families in Nepal watched grisly images of mangled corpses on a screen on Sunday, seeking to identify relatives as overflowing morgues forced authorities to begin burying flood victims.In a building next to a makeshift morgue in Bharatpur, Shobha Adhikary emerged from the crowd after scanning the LED screen.She told a local coordinator she believed the 37th image -- showing the pale, swollen face of a man lying on a pebbled riverbed -- was her childhood best friend.&quot;It looks like him, for sure,&quot; she said, showing coordinators a photograph of a smiling, middle-aged man.&quot;My husband and I are best friends with Rajkumar and his wife Geeta,&quot; she said. Geeta has also been missing since a lethal wall of water and debris ripped through the Nepal-China border on Wednesday.Nepal&#x27;s disaster agency said on Sunday it had recovered more than 750 bodies, with at least 2,500 people missing.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/8/30/rescuers-dig-into-tunnel-as-missing-toll-from-nepal-china-flood-nears-3-000-0826">READ: Rescuers dig into tunnel as missing toll from Nepal, China flood nears 3,000</a></div>Hundreds of bodies were swept downstream, and the tolls continue to rise.Bharatpur is close to the Indian border -- roughly 160 kilometers (100 miles) downstream of the epicenter of the disaster which the US Geological Survey said was caused by a glacial collapse.More than 250 bodies have been recovered in the southern district of Chitwan. Only nine have been identified by relatives.<div> </div><div>- &#x27;Number-tagged&#x27; -<img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1788098143289AFP__20260830__C6U68D3__v2__MidRes__NepalDisasterFlood.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Health workers carry a dead body inside a mortuary in the aftermath of flash floods, in Bharatpur of Nepal&#x27;s Chitwan district on August 30, 2026. Prakash Mathema, AFP"/>Health workers carry a dead body inside a mortuary in the aftermath of flash floods, in Bharatpur of Nepal&#x27;s Chitwan district on August 30, 2026. Prakash Mathema, AFP</div>Grieving relatives alternated between watching intently and closing their eyes, overwhelmed by the grim exercise.&quot;My brother&#x27;s wife is missing,&quot; Vinod Kumar Basnet said.&quot;My brother died of Covid during the pandemic, and their kids are waiting at home for their mother. If I see her body, I can at least tell them she is not coming back.&quot;The morgue at the local hospital in Bharatpur is equipped to hold only a couple dozen bodies.Authorities have been forced to store corpses at a temporary holding centre -- the air-conditioned offices of the district commerce association.But without proper freezing facilities, it is only a short-term arrangement.&quot;Many of the bodies were starting to badly decompose, and there was an unbearable stench in the whole area,&quot; said Rudra Adhikary, a member of the district Red Cross committee.&quot;So they were buried after collection of DNA.&quot;<div><a class="fr-strong fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/30/-no-information-received-yet-about-missing-filipino-doctor-in-nepal-dfa-2107">READ: &#x27;No information received yet&#x27; about missing Filipino doctor in Nepal — DFA</a></div>Some 90 bodies were buried in shallow graves on Saturday, district authorities said in a statement.An AFP correspondent saw workers digging dozens more graves on Sunday in a forest clearing on the outskirts of the town.The dead are traditionally cremated on funeral pyres in Hindu-majority Nepal, and the burials are viewed as long-term storage until families can retrieve them.&quot;The depth of the graves is 1.5 meters (five feet); the bodies are 40 centimeters (16 inches) apart from each other,&quot; Adhikary said.&quot;Each body is being number-tagged and wrapped in a plastic bag before burial.&quot;<div> </div><div>- DNA records -</div>Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai told reporters on Sunday the burials followed international protocols, adding that Nepal needed &quot;more than a thousand&quot; freezer units to store bodies.Examining the pictures, volunteers said the only way to accurately identify people was through a DNA match -- which would require a family member to provide a sample.With many corpses badly disfigured, volunteers said several families had claimed the same body.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/8/30/nepal-to-bury-unrecognizable-bodies-while-families-seek-to-identify-missing-loved-ones-2017">READ: Nepal to bury unrecognizable bodies while families seek to identify missing loved ones</a></div>In some cases, families who initially identified a body from the screen withdrew their claims after seeing it in person, said Devendra Poudel, a local Red Cross volunteer.&quot;Yesterday, we had a case where two families said one of the dead bodies was their relative,&quot; Poudel said.&quot;But when we showed them the body, one of the women realized it wasn&#x27;t her husband because there was a tattoo on the arm.&quot;Some bodies are so disfigured, Poudel added, &quot;that often it is difficult to say if it&#x27;s a man or woman&quot;.&quot;Tattoos, rings and earrings are the only way to really identify.&quot;

Distraught families in Nepal watched grisly images of mangled corpses on a screen on Sunday, seeking to identify relatives as overflowing morgues forced authorities to begin burying flood victims.

Distraught families in Nepal watched grisly images of mangled corpses on a screen on Sunday, seeking to identify relatives as overflowing morgues forced authorities to begin burying flood victims.

Grisly search for missing as Nepal morgues overflow, burials begin

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

BINI

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

World

Grisly search for missing as Nepal morgues overflow, burials begin

Arunabh Saikia,

Agence France-Presse

Published August 30, 2026 10:10 PM PHT

Read More:

Bhâratpur

Nepal

China

Tibet

landslide

flash floods

Himalayas

disaster

ABS-CBN Newsletter

Your go-to source for the latest news, entertainment highlights, exclusive interviews, and updates on your favorite Kapamilya stars.

ABS-CBN Newsletter

Your go-to source for the latest news, entertainment highlights, exclusive interviews, and updates on your favorite Kapamilya stars.

Sign Up

I have read and agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Haven't received our newsletter?

Check your inbox to verify and confirm your subscription. If you don’t see it, please check your spam or junk folder.

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.