Nepal turns to mass graves as flood death toll climbs

Nepal has begun burying victims of last week's catastrophic floods in mass graves after authorities collected DNA samples from unidentified bodies, as the scale of the disaster overwhelms efforts to identify and individually store the dead.

Authorities said on Tuesday that 1,003 bodies had been recovered following the devastating disaster, while another 3,916 people remained officially listed as missing.

The floods struck on August 26 after a high-altitude glacial collapse unleashed a powerful surge of freezing water, rocks and debris. The torrent swept through Himalayan valleys, destroying homes and infrastructure and carrying victims downstream.

At a mass burial site in Chitwan district, traditional Hindu funeral practices have been overtaken by the sheer number of bodies recovered from the disaster.

Normally, families would identify their relatives before cremation, with prayers and other religious rites marking the final farewell. But with hundreds of bodies still unidentified, authorities have been forced to collect DNA samples before burying victims together.

The decision reflects the enormous logistical challenge facing emergency services as they continue to recover bodies from areas devastated by the flood.

In Nuwakot district, police using drones to search for survivors reported finding 24 bodies inside a single house on Tuesday, highlighting the scale of the destruction left behind by the torrent.

The disaster has also had deadly consequences beyond Nepal's borders. Indian authorities have recovered at least 17 bodies from rivers far downstream, believed to have been swept across the border by the floodwaters.

Search and recovery operations remain under way as authorities continue looking for survivors and attempting to locate those still missing.

The death toll is expected to remain uncertain while rescue teams search remote and difficult-to-reach areas across the mountainous region.

For families waiting for news of loved ones, the mass burials have added another painful dimension to a disaster that has already devastated communities across the Himalayas.