DNA main hope for identity, but backlog overwhelms Nepal forensic labs

Nepal's forensic laboratories are in a race against time 15 days after the Bhote Koshi-Trishuli flood, with thousands of DNA samples arriving at facilities accustomed to processing fewer than 900 tests in an entire year. As visual identification becomesdifficult because of decomposition and mutilation, DNA is now the main hope of putting names to 1,265 unidentified bodies and human remains.The latest count shows 2,678 DNA samples have been collected for identification - 1,286 from the dead and 1,412 from relatives. Nepal Police's forensic laboratory alone has received 1,240 samples for DNA and related examinations, including 808 blood samples from relatives, 348 teeth and bone samples from the dead and 84 fingerprint samples. Blood samples for profiling have arrived from 26 districts. "Samples from the deceased and their relatives are continuously being received. We are working day and night," laboratory chief SSP Yog Bahadur Pal said.The scale of the wider disaster keeps the pressure mounting. Nepal has recovered 1,367 bodies and human remains, including 498 partial remains. Only 102 have been identified and handed over to families, while 5,132 people remain officially missing, in...