Bengal Collects DNA Samples From Relatives of 37 People Missing in Nepal Flood

Kolkata: The West Bengal government has started collecting blood samples from relatives of people missing in the devastating Nepal flash flood, in an effort to identify unidentified bodies recovered after the disaster.

According to officials, relatives from 37 families whose members remain unaccounted for following the August 26 flash flood have been identified for DNA matching. Blood samples are being collected so that their DNA profiles can be compared with samples obtained from unidentified victims in Nepal.

The initiative comes as search and identification efforts continue in Nepal, where the scale of the disaster has made it difficult for authorities to establish the identities of many victims.

DNA testing to help identify victims

Police officials said DNA samples collected from relatives will be sent to forensic laboratories for profiling. The resulting profiles will then be shared with the Nepalese authorities to determine whether they match any of the unidentified bodies recovered after the floods.

The process is particularly important in cases where bodies cannot be identified through photographs, documents or other physical characteristics.

Nepal has also begun relying on DNA testing because some recovered remains have deteriorated significantly, making conventional identification difficult. Nepal's forensic authorities have identified close relatives such as parents and children as potential DNA donors for the process.

27 families had already provided samples

The DNA collection process in Bengal began with relatives from 27 families, who provided samples at government hospitals across the state on Thursday, according to police.

Officials said the samples would be sent for forensic analysis, with the findings subsequently shared with Nepal for comparison against unidentified remains.

The number of families being covered has since been reported as 37, reflecting the ongoing effort to account for people from West Bengal who remain missing following the disaster.

Devastating Nepal flash flood

The August 26 disaster was triggered by a massive flash flood in Nepal's mountainous Rasuwa and Nuwakot regions, with the catastrophe affecting people, infrastructure and hydropower projects.

Thousands of people remain missing in the aftermath of the disaster. Search teams are continuing operations in difficult terrain, while families have been desperately seeking information about their relatives.

Reuters reported that more than 4,200 people remained missing as of September 3, while more than 1,200 deaths had been confirmed.

The disaster has also affected foreign nationals, including Indians who were travelling or working in Nepal when the floods struck.

Families wait for confirmation

For relatives in West Bengal, the DNA initiative offers a scientific route to resolving cases where there is no clear information about the fate of their loved ones.

Officials are using genetic matching because visual identification may not always be possible, particularly when bodies have been recovered after several days or only partial remains are available.

Nepal's authorities have separately appealed to first-degree relatives of missing people to come forward for DNA sampling as part of a broader victim-identification exercise.

Search and identification efforts continue

The DNA process does not itself confirm that a missing person has died. Instead, it provides authorities with a means of establishing identity if remains are recovered.

Search and rescue teams in Nepal continue to look for survivors and missing people, including workers believed to be trapped in damaged hydropower facilities. Rescue operations have been complicated by enormous quantities of debris, damaged infrastructure and difficult mountain terrain.

For families in Bengal still waiting for news, the collection of DNA samples is therefore an important step in the long and painful process of establishing what happened to their missing relatives.