Technology and Science · updated 1h ago · 3 min read
Gujarat Collects DNA Samples From Relatives of 29 Missing After Nepal Flash Floods
Gujarat collected DNA samples from relatives of 29 missing Gujaratis after Nepal floods Samples are being processed for DNA profiling to identify bodies and remains
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DNA profiling begins
Gujarat has completed DNA sample collection from the relatives of 29 of the 30 people from the state who remain missing or uncontactable after the flash floods in Nepal, particularly along the Nepal-Tibet border and the Bhote Koshi River corridor.
“The Gujarat Government has completed DNA sample collection from the relatives of 29 of the 30 people”
The collected samples are being processed for DNA profiling so authorities can match genetic profiles with bodies and human remains recovered after the flash floods, and the process for the remaining missing person is also underway.
The Gujarat government said the DNA profiling exercise is being conducted under guidelines issued by the Government of India, with designated forensic laboratories identified across the country and DNA profiling free of cost in accordance with directions issued by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The Gujarat State Non-Resident Gujaratis’ Foundation (NRGF), under the NRI Division of the General Administration Department, is coordinating the collection and profiling process and is personally contacting relatives to guide them to designated laboratories.
The National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU), Gandhinagar, is coordinating with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on DNA profiling coordination and the linkage of profiles with the identification process in Nepal.
Overseas families and labs
The identification effort includes relatives living abroad, with NRGF in touch with relatives in New Zealand, the United States, Canada and African countries to seek information about samples collected by local authorities and the progress of identification.
The Gujarat government said DNA profiling at designated laboratories is being undertaken through six locations in Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Junagadh and Rajkot, where samples of first-degree relatives will be collected and profiled under Central Government guidelines.
In Nepal, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority issued a public notice on X for families living outside the country whose relatives remain missing, asking them to provide DNA samples from the closest available blood relative.
The notice specified that spouses, adopted family members, step-relatives and in-laws cannot be used for DNA comparison, and it directed families to provide samples through a government forensic science laboratory or an authorised private laboratory in their respective countries.
Nepal’s DNA testing procedures also required the DNA report to include an electropherogram (EPG) with a marker table in PDF, XML and CMF formats and to be issued on the laboratory’s official letterhead with information on the relationship between the DNA donor and the claimed missing person.
Capacity strain and stakes
Nepal’s forensic labs are facing a backlog as thousands of DNA samples arrive after the Bhote Koshi-Trishuli flood, with the Times of India describing a race against time 15 days after the disaster.
“thousands of DNA samples arriving at facilities accustomed to processing fewer than 900 tests in an entire year”
The Times of India reported that 2,678 DNA samples have been collected for identification—1,286 from the dead and 1,412 from relatives—and that Nepal Police’s forensic laboratory alone has received 1,240 samples, including 808 blood samples from relatives.
The same report said Nepal’s DNA facilities were accustomed to processing fewer than 900 tests in an entire year, while the current influx is several times that routine annual workload.
Nepal Police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle told the Times of India that the bodies are difficult to identify because they have been badly damaged and dismembered, and that in some cases two, even three, different families have even claimed the same body.
With only 102 identified and handed over to families while 5,132 people remain officially missing, the DNA backlog is directly shaping how quickly families can receive confirmation about the fate of their relatives.