Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 1 (ANI): Following the devastating disaster in Nepal, the process of sending the bodies kept at Gorakhpur AIIMS back to Nepal has now begun.
A total of nine bodies were kept at Gorakhpur AIIMS. Out of these, 5 bodies were sent to Nepal today following the completion of their post-mortems. These bodies had been brought from Kushinagar and kept at the AIIMS hospital, after which the process of sending them back to Nepal was initiated.
Meanwhile, the post-mortem for the remaining four bodies will be conducted on Wednesday, following which the process of sending them to Nepal will also begin.
Providing a direct update on the bodies recovered from the catastrophic floods in Nepal and preserved at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Gorakhpur, Executive Director and CEO Major General Dr Vibha Dutta shared detailed insights regarding the ongoing mortuary and forensic operations.
Speaking with ANI, she said, "As you know, there were flash floods in Nepal and it's a very sad matter. From the 29th until yesterday, we received 9 bodies. We have kept them all in our mortuary; we are preserving them in cold chambers. They remain unidentified, and we are registering them as unknown 1, unknown 2, etc. We are trying to ascertain their identity through whatever means possible, such as their physical appearance, any injuries, or changes in skin color. We are trying to confirm their identities based on these findings."
Detailing the capacity, completed procedures, and current status of the remaining victims, Dr Dutta added, "Our mortuary has a capacity of 24. Yesterday, the police brought the paperwork, and we conducted full post-mortems on 5 bodies. Our forensic faculty has examined the bodies, and they are trying to determine their age and cause of death. All findings have been documented and handed over to the police. The police have now left for Nepal with those bodies. A Tehsildar and police personnel are accompanying the bodies. We still have four bodies, and their post-mortems will be conducted tomorrow."
Earlier in the day, mass burial began in the capital, Kathmandu, as well, after the morgue ran out of space after one week of the devastating flood in Nepal.
Security forces donned in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) carried the body bags and buried them in the Gorkarna forest area on the outskirts of Kathmandu.
Amid the rainfall, the security personnel walking through the muddy forest carried the bodies and buried them with markers on top. The big bags contained the tags through which the bodies would be later exhumed and handed over to families after establishing the identities.
DNA of the buried bodies has already been kept for cross-matching with the family. As the bodies of the victims swept away by the Bhotekoshi flood are being dumped downstream, hospitals are struggling to find places to store and identify them.
The Himalayan Nation only has a capacity of storing about 350 bodies in the morgues nationwide, which has led to a shortage of space to store the bodies until the family identifies and claims them.
The remains of the victims swept by flood from Rasuwa and Nuwakot are being recovered in different parts of the nation.
The district of Chitwan, a major low lying areas has collected the highest number, 321 bodies. The morgues there have already been filled with the bodies of the victims swept downstream, which has prompted authorities to set up temporary facilities.
Authorities are managing the bodies under the Unidentified and Unclaimed Bodies Management Guidelines, 2021, under which a committee headed by the district police chief is responsible for managing the remains.
With morgues running out of space, the government has engaged in managing unidentified bodies by amending the Unidentified and Unclaimed Body Management Guidelines, 2021. (ANI)
Gorakhpur AIIMS sends first batch of five unidentified flood victims back to Nepal after post-mortem
