Families asked to provide DNA samples to identify Nepal flood victims

Families of people missing after the recent Nepal flash floods have been urged to provide biological samples to help identify victims. Krishna district Superintendent of Police V. Vidyasagar Naidu issued the appeal on Monday.

He said the Ministry of Home Affairs had directed authorities to offer free DNA profiling for the identification of bodies and mortal remains recovered after the disaster. The samples collected from relatives will be sent to Nepal, where they will be compared with unidentified bodies or remains, according to the police. The procedure is intended to assist families whose missing relatives have not yet been identified.

Naidu said relatives including parents, sons, daughters and siblings should visit their nearest police station. Police officers will coordinate the collection of samples at the Government Forensic Science Laboratory. Families can also submit the names of people missing in the tragedy.

Police have been instructed to record the details and cooperate with bereaved families in the district. The appeal sets out a local process for relatives seeking identification assistance: they are to approach nearby police stations, provide information about missing people and give biological samples through the forensic laboratory. The source material does not provide the number of people missing or the total number of bodies recovered in the floods.

It also does not state how long the sampling process will remain open. The DNA profiling offer is being made at no cost to the families, with the samples to be used for matching in Nepal. Police said the initiative would support efforts to establish the identities of victims whose remains remain unidentified.

Authorities have asked eligible relatives to cooperate with police officers collecting the information and samples.