Families carrying photographs of missing relatives are arriving in Chitwan from across Nepal, as bodies swept away by the Bhotekoshi flood continue to turn up far downstream. The disaster has created a second crisis for authorities — finding enough space to store the remains, slowing their decomposition and identifying them before it becomes even harder to establish who they are.Bodies recovered from Rasuwa and Nuwakot have been found as far downstream as Chitwan, Tanahun and Nawalparasi. With morgues in several districts already full, bodies are being moved to neighbouring areas, and facilities there are now coming under pressure too, The Kathmandu Post reported.Also Read | Nepal Flash Flood Live UpdatesThe identification crisis is also being closely watched in India. The External Affairs Ministry has said that 320 Indian nationals remain uncontactable after the disaster. Many Indians were travelling through the affected region, including pilgrims headed towards Mount Kailash in Tibet.For families still waiting for news, the growing pressure on Nepal’s morgues adds urgency to the search for a way to identify those who have been recovered.626 Dead in NepalUpdated Aug 292,426+Missing Nepal & Tibet596Foreign nationals missingNepal FM Thu list · Police Fri: 6443,700+People airlifted in Nepal Gyirong Port & Rasuwagadhi — before & after the flood◀ Before Apr 19, 2024 Aug 27, 2026 After ▶Apr. 19, 2024 Gyirong Port area — border crossing intact, river and road visibleAug. 27, 2026 Border post buried — entire area submerged under debrisBefore-and-after satellite views of the China–Nepal border area around Gyirong Port and Rasuwagadhi, after the flash flood. Imagery: Vantor · Comparison built with Knight Lab JuxtaposeJS. The two frames are 28 months apart; some change visible between them predates the August 2026 flood.⚠️Three separate datasets — do not add them together. Nepal foreign ministry list · India MEA contacts · China/Tibet government figures. Each covers a different population, location and stage of verification. India — the numbers explainedIndians affected — three different figuresEach comes from a different source and stage of verificationStill missing — MEA latest (Aug 29)Covers both Nepal and Tibet sides~320Uncontactable — India's MEALocated, awaiting evacuation400+Crossed into Nepal by landConfirmed crossed as of Aug 2996❓ Why are the Nepal and India figures different?India's MEA (Aug 29) reports ~320 nationals missing — this covers both Nepal and Tibet. Separately, 400+ Indians are located but stranded on the Chinese side, and 96 have crossed back into Nepal. Nepal's Foreign Ministry's Thursday list recorded 167 Indians missing in Nepal only. The MEA's wider figure reflects a tracking exercise covering the entire border zone and has been revised upward as more people were accounted for or reported missing. India — MEA data (Aug 29) Indians still missing~320 Stranded but safe — China side400+ Crossed into Nepal by land96⚠ MEA vs Nepal FM — why figures differIndia's MEA figure (~320 missing) covers Indians on both sides of the Nepal–Tibet border and has been revised upward. Nepal's Foreign Ministry Thursday list showed 167 Indians missing in Nepal only. These are separate datasets — do not compare directly.Also missing — 33 countries totalS. Korea9Singapore8–9Germany8Russia8S. Africa6Latvia6Japan5New Zealand5France4Belgium3Spain3Italy2 China & Tibet — a separate crisis China/Tibet figures — different location, different dataset~100Chinese nationals missing on Nepal side (China FM)554Missing in Gyirong County, Tibet (CCTV)260Foreigners among those missing in Gyirong⚠ These figures cover different locations and categories. The Nepal and Tibet counts should not be added together. Tibet: 7 dead, 554 missing (Aug 29, Tibet emergency dept). Of 554 missing in Tibet, 260 are foreign nationals — nationalities not yet released.⚠ The danger isn't over — upstream lake riskNewly formed upstream lake — risk of another flood~2 million cubic metres accumulatedA barrier lake formed at the confluence of Chhochen Khola and Purepu Tsangpo rivers, accumulating ~2 million cubic metres. China issued a Level-IV alert on Thursday.⬆️Lake level fell 10m by Friday — risk reduced but monitoring continuesBy late Friday, monitoring data from China's Ministry of Water Resources showed the lake had dwindled — water level dropped 10 metres (32 ft) from the Thursday peak. A five-person monitoring post has been set up for continuous observation.⛑ Search paused: poor weather grounds helicopters SaturdayBrig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet (Nepal Army) said helicopter operations were on hold Saturday due to poor weather. More than 14,000 security personnel have been mobilised. Rescuers reached Gyirong by foot, raft and drone. Over 100 people believed trapped in a mud-filled tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Rasuwa. Reading these numbersNepal NDRRMA (Aug 29): 626 dead, 2,426 missing, 3,700+ rescued. Nepal Police (Fri): 644 foreign nationals missing. Tibet Emergency Dept (Aug 29): 7 dead, 554 missing (260 foreigners). India MEA (Aug 29): ~320 Indians still missing across both sides; 400+ stranded safe on China side; 96 crossed into Nepal. Nepal FM Thursday list: 167 Indians missing in Nepal only. These are separate datasets — totals must not be added.Sources: Nepal NDRRMA · Nepal Police · India MEA · Tibet Emergency Management Dept · AP · PTI · Reuters · China FM. Figures as of Aug 29, 2026. All preliminary.Express InfoGenIEMorgues run out of spaceIn Chitwan, where the number of recovered bodies has overwhelmed hospital capacity, an unused building of the Industrial Enterprise Development Institute in Bharatpur is being converted into a temporary body-storage centre.The facility is expected to provide space for around 250 bodies. If that capacity is exceeded, authorities have identified the electric crematorium at Devghat as another option. Air conditioners and dry ice are being arranged to slow decomposition.But the scale of the recovery operation is already far beyond the original numbers. By Saturday, 233 bodies had been brought to Chitwan. Only four had been identified, leaving 229 unidentified and unclaimed.Story continues below this adAuthorities have now begun burying the 229 unidentified bodies after collecting DNA samples and assigning identification numbers to them. The decision came as the remains deteriorated and storage facilities struggled to cope with the continuing influx.The move does not necessarily close the door on identification. DNA samples and records linked to each body can be used later if relatives come forward and a match is found.Families search for the missingRelatives of people missing after the flood have been arriving in Chitwan from Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Gorkha and other districts, some carrying photographs of their loved ones and hoping to find them among the recovered bodies.For Indian families, the uncertainty is particularly acute. With 320 Indian nationals still reported uncontactable, identification of recovered remains could become an important part of establishing what happened to people whose whereabouts remain unknown.Story continues below this adAuthorities have cautioned, however, that nationality cannot simply be inferred from the identity of the missing. The 229 bodies being buried in Chitwan remain unidentified.A race against decompositionThe problem is not only finding space. It is also time. In Pokhara, 102 bodies recovered from the Trishuli and Narayani riverbanks have been transferred for identification and post-mortem examinations after local facilities ran short of capacity. Hospitals and facilities in the district have a combined capacity of about 88 bodies.The remains are being kept at temperatures of roughly 2 to 6 degrees Celsius. At those temperatures, bodies can be preserved for only about 10 days to two weeks, while longer-term preservation would require sub-zero facilities that are not available in Pokhara.As decomposition advances, visual identification becomes increasingly difficult. Authorities are therefore relying on photographs, fingerprints, post-mortems and DNA testing, alongside identifying details such as tattoos, clothing and jewellery where available.Story continues below this adOne case illustrates the difficulty. A 25-year-old excavator operator, Suman Gole, was identified through a distinctive tattoo after damage to his face made visual identification difficult.Identification becomes harder as bodies move downstreamThe flood carried people and debris through the Trishuli and Narayani river systems, meaning bodies can be recovered far from where people were last seen. That makes matching remains to missing-person reports even more difficult.In Nawalparasi East, authorities have also faced a shortage of forensic expertise, with local medical personnel carrying out basic post-mortems while officials seek additional specialist help.Police are photographing bodies, taking fingerprints, conducting post-mortems and collecting DNA samples for testing. Unidentified bodies are being assigned tag numbers so that burial records can be linked to future identification efforts.Story continues below this adFor families in Nepal and India, that means the physical recovery of a body may not immediately bring an answer. In some cases, DNA testing and the matching of records may be the only way to establish the identity of someone whose remains have been carried far downstream.The flood may have separated families from their relatives in a matter of minutes. The search to give those families a name, and an answer, could take much longer.