Gandhinagar, August 29: A 10-member team from Gujarat’s National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) has departed for Nepal. This team will assist in identifying victims of the recent floods in Nepal. Families across India and other countries are anxiously awaiting news of their missing relatives following this disaster.
The team will operate under the leadership of Bhargav Patel, head of NFSU’s Center of Excellence in DNA Forensics. They will match DNA samples as part of the victim identification process.
This mission is being conducted under the joint supervision of India’s Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Following severe flooding on August 26 in central Nepal and the Nepal-Tibet border region, large-scale search and relief operations are underway. As of Saturday, the death toll has risen to 669, with nearly 2,000 individuals still reported missing.
Thousands have been safely evacuated, but access to affected areas remains challenging due to damage to roads, bridges, and other infrastructure.
A significant number of Indian citizens have also been impacted by this disaster. The Ministry of External Affairs stated in its briefing on August 28 that efforts to locate affected Indian citizens and ensure their safe return are ongoing.
Reports indicate that 25 individuals connected to Gujarat are missing, including some with foreign citizenship.
Identifying the deceased has become one of the greatest challenges in the relief efforts, as many families are still waiting for confirmation about their missing relatives.
Nepalese officials are compiling lists of rescued and missing individuals, while identification and recovery of bodies continue in the affected districts.
NFSU stated, “Once the identification process is complete, the team will provide families with full information about their loved ones. Experts will collect DNA samples from recovered bodies and match them with samples from relatives to ensure accurate identification.”
The university noted its experience in such operations. Following the AI-171 plane crash on June 12 last year, DNA identification of the deceased was completed in just 10 days.
NFSU also mentioned that its forensic experts have collaborated with the U.S. Department of Defense to locate American soldiers missing in India during World War II. This effort led to the recovery of remains of three soldiers.
The university possesses specialized academic and technical expertise in human identification and disaster victim identification.
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