Nepal buries flood victims in temporary graves amid mounting criticism

Nepal was burying on Monday some of the hundreds of bodies retrieved after a deadly, tsunami-like flood crashed through the Himalayan region, sweeping away villages and causing widespread destruction in its path.

In south-central Nepal's Chitwan district, hundreds of victims were being buried while awaiting identification in hastily dug trenches serving as temporary graves, prompting accusations from locals that Hindu funeral traditions were being ignored.

Government officials have noted that the measure is needed due to the severity of the situation, as the catastrophic floods are estimated to have killed at least 903 people, a number which could rise dramatically as 4,247 more are still reported missing.

Some of the bodies that were buried were carried hundreds of kilometres downstream by the Bhotekoshi River from the flood's epicentre before being recovered in Chitwan.

Distraught families have packed rescue stations and hospitals in search of their missing relatives, while others have faced the grim task of identifying bodies at overflowing morgues.

Authorities carried out a temporary burial of about 100 victims on Saturday, officials said, as forensic teams struggled to cope. A convoy of vehicles carrying bodies entered a lush, forested area as an excavator dug a wide trench in the red earth while officials and media looked on.

Anil Thapa, a police inspector coordinating the handling of the bodies, said another 50 bodies were having DNA samples taken ahead of their likely burial on Sunday.

Limited forensic infrastructure and inadequate morgue capacity in the district further strained efforts to manage the overwhelming number of bodies recovered from the disaster, officials said.

High humidity and sweltering heat accelerated decomposition, compounding the challenges as health experts warned that leaving the remains exposed could increase the risk of disease.

As survivors grappled with the aftermath, criticism of the burials mounted. Some residents said the dead had waited days for their last rites and were denied dignity in death. Families still waiting to locate missing relatives and some public figures questioned whether authorities moved too quickly.

The issue is particularly sensitive in Nepal, a predominantly Hindu nation where the dead are traditionally cremated. Ruby Chaudhary, who has two missing relatives, said the burials should not proceed without families’ consent.

“The dead deserve to be treated with dignity,” she said. “Our tradition is to cremate them on the riverbank, surrounded by their immediate family.”

“People are worried that this could be a permanent burial, but it is only temporary management,” said Thapa. “If someone is able to verify the identity later using the available information, they can take back the body and perform the appropriate funeral rites.”

Amrit Bahadur Rai, Nepal’s foreign secretary, said the temporary burial of unidentified bodies was carried out in line with internationally accepted disaster-management protocols, including those of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

“Families can match records later, and will be allowed to exhume (the remains later) for necessary rituals,” Rai said at a press briefing in the capital Kathmandu.