Bad weather has delayed an airlift of 18 corpses recovered from the landslide debris in Langtang of Rasuwa district about two weeks ago. The bodies are believed to be of trekkers who were swept away in landslides and avalanches triggered by the April 25 earthquake.
The bodies that are beyond recognition are waiting to be airlifted to Kathmandu for DNA testing.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Prabin Pokhrel said the poor weather conditions for the past two weeks have prevented them from going to the recovery site. He added that they were informed about the bodies by locals of Langtang.
“The bodies have been kept in a school ground,” said DSP Pokhrel. “Although the locals have claimed that the bodies were that of their family members and relatives, it will be ascertained only after DNA tests.”
The bodies, once airlifted, will be ferried to the Forensic Unit of the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. From there, the samples from the body parts will undergo DNA testing at the Central Police Forensic Science Laboratory of Nepal Police.
Laxmi Dhakal, spokesperson for the Ministry of Home Affairs said that a helicopter will reach the recovery site to ferry the bodies once the weather is clear.
One hundred and eighty people, including 39 foreigners, are reported to have gone missing after the earthquake. More than 100 complaints of missing people had been lodged in Rasuwa alone, out of that 21 are from locals, 61 from other districts and 22 foreigners.
Nearly 9,000 were killed and more than 20,000 injured in the April 25 earthquake and its aftershocks.
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