KATHMANDU, Sept 3: The scene at the Forensic Department of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj on Wednesday resembled the coronavirus pandemic. Workers handling bodies wore masks and protective gear. Security personnel, relatives searching for missing family members and ambulance drivers were also masked.
The hospital compound was filled with the stench of decomposing bodies, making it difficult for relatives to stay inside for long. Staff, police officers and drivers working there had little choice but to endure the smell.
Ambulance driver Sitaram Wali arrived from Nuwakot on Wednesday afternoon carrying a body. The stench grew stronger as soon as his ambulance stopped. Wali has been transporting bodies since the day after the flood hit Rasuwa. On Wednesday, he brought bodies collected by the army from the Trishuli barracks.
“The bodies started to smell three days after the flood. Now the stench is very strong,” he said. “But we have no choice. I wear three masks while carrying them.” He said around 15 more bodies collected in Nuwakot were still waiting to be transported.
Ambulance drivers Dhruv Lakour and Himalaya Bahadur Rana, members of the Joint Ambulance Drivers Association operated by Kathmandu Metropolitan City, were also at the forensic department. They have been transporting bodies from Nuwakot to Kathmandu and other locations since the day after the flood. Lakour and Rana carry bodies from the forensic department to Aryaghat and to the forest where unidentified bodies are being buried.
“We have no choice but to carry them. We have got used to it,” Lakour said. The drivers said they were providing the service free of charge through their association.
161 out of 244 dead bodies ferried to TU Teaching Hospital mana...
The smell has affected not only ambulance drivers but also hospital workers who handle the bodies, photograph them, show them to relatives and maintain records. Police personnel involved in the search and identification process were also working in masks. A team led by Deputy Inspector General Om Bahadur Rana of Nepal Police headquarters has been overseeing body management.
Rana said many of the bodies recovered in recent days had decomposed so badly that identification was no longer possible. Identified bodies have been handed over to relatives, while unidentified bodies have been buried in the Gokarna forest.
Of the 165 bodies collected from different districts and brought to the Teaching Hospital by Wednesday, relatives had identified and received 15. Another 85 had been buried in Gokarna, Rana said. Identification was possible only in cases where bodies had distinctive marks such as tattoos, moles on the ears or other physical features.
“The flesh on the hands and feet has fallen off, and the bodies have decomposed,” Rana said. Spraying disinfectants and phenyl has failed to eliminate the smell. Twenty workers have been assigned specifically to body management.
Before burial, samples are collected from every body for DNA testing. Dr Gopal Chaudhary, head of the Forensic Department, said identification becomes extremely difficult once bodies have completely decomposed. DNA testing will therefore become the main method of identification.
Chaudhary said the department has avoided using chemicals to control the smell because they could expose workers to serious respiratory problems. “The smell may cause temporary allergies, but chemicals can cause serious lung disease,” he said.
He said burying decomposed bodies is the safest option. As more bodies continue to be recovered, he expects their condition to be worse. In such cases, DNA matching using bone fragments may be the only way to establish identities.
Everybody has been tagged and samples preserved, making identification possible even months later. However, DNA matching could take months, he said.
According to police data, 1,118 bodies have been recovered from among 4,885 people reported missing across the country. So far, 95 bodies have been handed over to relatives.
Relatives Growing Weary of Searching
Many relatives who came to search for missing family members could not enter the forensic department because of the stench. Prakriti Gurung was among several relatives waiting outside. Six members of her family went missing in the Rasuwa flood.
Her father ran a shop at the Trishuli hydropower project in Nuwakot. Her elder uncle, aunt, mother, sister in law and nephew also remain missing.
Gurung said her father’s body was reportedly seen in the Trishuli River on Bhadra 11, but the army did not allow them to photograph it. When she later came to search for the body, she was told that it had already been buried. “The body of the father we found is neither here nor there. What are we supposed to do now?” she asked.
Kavre resident Gita Rijal was also at the hospital searching for her missing husband, Rajkumar Rijal. After searching in Chitwan, East Nawalparasi and Nuwakot without success, she came to the forensic department for DNA testing. Rajkumar had travelled from Kathmandu to Rasuwa on Bhadra 10 carrying tourists.
Laxmi Tamang of Sindhupalchok came looking for her missing brother after a week of uncertainty. “My brothers have searched Chitwan, Nuwakot and Rasuwa, but I came hoping he might still be receiving treatment somewhere,” she said.
A 10-member team from Jumla also arrived at the hospital on Wednesday after travelling for three days. Thirty-two people from the same area of Jumla went missing in the Rasuwa flood. “We came hoping to find him, whether alive or dead,” said Chandra Bista.
Shivani Mirwaha of Haripur, Sarlahi, was also among those who reached the Teaching Hospital. With new injured patients no longer arriving, hospital wards now hold mostly those injured earlier. After seven days without finding their relatives, many families were leaving the hospital exhausted and increasingly discouraged.
