Nepal Seeks DNA Samples from Families Abroad to Identify Flood Missing

Kathmandu: Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) has issued guidelines for families living abroad whose relatives remain missing after the devastating Bhotekoshi flash floods, allowing DNA samples from close blood relatives to assist in identification.

The authority said samples should preferably come from the missing person’s parents or children, followed by biological siblings. The latest disaster figures cited by NDRRMA put the death toll at 1,367, while around 5,132 people remain missing. More than 13,600 people have been rescued so far.