Nepal morgues overflow with bodies washed downstream; police resort to QR code

Nepal is confronting a grim new crisis after the devastating flash floods, with bodies being recovered hundreds of kilometres downstream while hospitals struggle to find space for the dead. Remains swept from Rasuwa and Nuwakot have surfaced along the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli-Narayani river system in districts including Chitwan, Tanahun, Gorkha and Nawalparasi. With recoveries continuing, authorities are converting unused buildings into temporary morgues and shifting bodies between districts.

Chitwan emerges as recovery hub

Chitwan has become one of the main centres for receiving victims carried downstream. Bharatpur Hospital alone had received 137 bodies by Thursday evening, with another 50 arriving on Friday. The hospital, however, has freezer capacity for only 24 bodies. Authorities are consequently preparing an unused government building in Bharatpur that could accommodate around 250 remains. Plans include using air-conditioning and dry ice to slow decomposition. Officials have also identified additional facilities that could be pressed into service if the number of recovered bodies continues to rise.

Pokhara morgues stretched

The crisis has spread to Pokhara as neighbouring districts send bodies there because their own storage facilities are full. By Thursday, 93 bodies had been transported to Pokhara from Tanahun, Gorkha, Nawalparasi East and Dhading, exceeding the combined capacity of 88 bodies across medical facilities in Kaski district. Preservation presents another challenge. Existing facilities can maintain bodies at temperatures between 2 and 6 degrees Celsius, generally sufficient for around 10 days to two weeks. Longer preservation would require sub-zero storage infrastructure that is not currently available in Pokhara.

QR code launched for identification

With many victims still unidentified, Nepal Police has introduced a QR code system to help families searching for missing relatives. Scanning the code provides access to details of unidentified bodies, including photographs and physical descriptions. The initiative allows relatives to conduct an initial search without travelling between multiple hospitals and recovery centres.

Police are also documenting bodies through photographs and fingerprints, conducting post-mortems and collecting DNA samples where necessary. Samples requiring forensic comparison are being sent to Kathmandu. Each unidentified body can be assigned a reference number so its records remain traceable even if burial becomes necessary before relatives are found.

Families search across districts

Relatives have been travelling between hospitals and temporary morgues carrying photographs of missing family members, hoping to find information about those swept away. The distances involved have made identification particularly difficult. Some victims carried into major river systems have been recovered far from the communities where they disappeared. The disaster has even crossed Nepal’s borders. Seven unidentified bodies suspected to have been swept downstream from the floods have been recovered from rivers in Uttar Pradesh, according to reports.

Recovery crisis deepens

The overflowing morgues illustrate how the disaster response is changing as rescue operations gradually give way to the difficult task of recovering and identifying victims. Authorities are simultaneously searching for those still missing, preserving bodies, conducting forensic examinations and creating temporary storage facilities. For hundreds of families still waiting for news, the expanding identification operation has become another painful dimension of Nepal’s flood catastrophe.