Rescue operations are continuing on a war footing in Nepal as bodies washed away by rivers continue to be recovered from various areas. With hospital morgues overflowing, the Nepal Police has begun using QR code technology to preserve the bodies and help relatives identify the deceased.
As many as 137 bodies have been recovered in the Chitwan area alone. Since local hospitals can accommodate only 30 to 50 bodies, an unused government building has been air-conditioned and converted into a temporary morgue with a capacity to store 250 bodies.
Meanwhile, 93 bodies recovered from Tanahun, Gorkha, Dhading and Nawalparasi districts were shifted to morgues in Pokhara. However, the number of bodies has exceeded the combined capacity of 88 at hospitals in the city.
Similarly, 37 bodies, including recovered body parts, were found in Dhading district. Some were shifted to Kathmandu, while bodies recovered in Gorkha were moved to Pokhara and those from Nawalparasi were shifted to Palpa for temporary storage.
Photographs, fingerprints, physical characteristics and other details of the recovered bodies are being collected and compiled into a database to facilitate identification by relatives.
