DNA Testing of Relatives Underway to Identify Jumla Residents Missing in Bhotekoshi Flood

Jumla : DNA testing of relatives has been initiated to identify residents of Jumla who went missing following the flooding of the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa.

According to Police Inspector and spokesperson Shalikram Khanal of the District Police Office, Jumla, samples have been collected from 39 relatives—33 from Patarasi Rural Municipality and six from Guthichaur Rural Municipality. The collected samples have been sent to the National Forensic Science Laboratory in Lalitpur.

Prem Bahadur Somai, information officer at the District Public Health Service Office, said DNA testing had been completed on 39 blood samples collected from relatives in Patarasi and Guthichaur with the assistance of health workers from Karnali Academy of Health Sciences. He added that information had been received that samples from other relatives were collected in Kathmandu.

DNA profiles will be prepared from the samples at the laboratory and compared with those of bodies recovered after the flood. Once the identification process is completed, the bodies will be handed over to the respective families.

According to the District Administration Office, 93 residents of Jumla were reported missing following the Bhotekoshi flood. Of them, 30 have so far been reunited with their families or contacted by relatives, while 63 people remain missing, the administration said.