Nepal Begins Burials As Flood Death Toll Rises To 752

Nepal has begun temporarily burying some of the hundreds of bodies recovered after devastating floods and landslides, as the confirmed death toll rose to 752 and thousands of people remained missing.

Authorities said Sunday that DNA samples were being collected from the bodies before burial, while each victim was carefully identified and recorded. The measures are intended to allow families to retrieve the remains later when identification and recovery efforts become possible.

The temporary burials are considered necessary because Nepal does not have sufficient facilities to store the large number of bodies recovered following the disaster.

The dead are traditionally cremated on funeral pyres in predominantly Hindu Nepal. Authorities therefore described the burials as a form of long-term storage until relatives can identify and claim the remains for traditional funeral rites.

Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai appealed for international assistance, saying the country needed more than 1,000 freezer units to preserve the bodies properly.

The disaster ministry increased the official death toll Sunday to 752 recovered bodies, while 2,502 people were still reported missing.

The scale of the disaster has placed enormous pressure on rescue teams, medical facilities and authorities responsible for identifying victims and supporting affected communities.

Rescue operations have continued in several areas, with emergency workers searching for survivors and recovering bodies from communities affected by flooding and landslides.

The disaster has also displaced large numbers of residents and caused widespread destruction to homes, roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

Authorities have been working to restore access to affected communities while delivering emergency supplies and medical assistance to survivors.

The increasing number of recovered bodies has created additional logistical challenges, particularly in areas where electricity, transportation and refrigeration facilities have been disrupted.

Officials have stressed the importance of properly documenting every recovered victim to prevent families from losing track of their relatives and to support eventual identification.

DNA samples are expected to play an important role in identifying bodies that cannot be recognised visually, particularly where victims have been severely affected by the disaster.

The government has continued to seek assistance from international partners as rescue, recovery and relief operations expand.

For many families, the continuing search remains focused on finding missing relatives and recovering their remains.

Authorities have urged residents in affected areas to cooperate with emergency teams and provide information that could assist in locating missing people.

With thousands still unaccounted for, officials warned that the human cost of the disaster could continue to rise as rescue teams reach more severely affected communities.