Nepal floods: 10 bodies wash up in UP as families wait for answers

The devastation from Nepal’s deadly floods has now reached across the border, with 10 bodies washing up in rivers in Uttar Pradesh over the past two days.

Six of the bodies were recovered from the Gandak River in the border districts of Maharajganj and Kushinagar. The river is known as the Narayani in Nepal. Authorities are yet to identify the victims and are in touch with their Nepalese counterparts to check whether they figure among those reported missing after the floods.

Bodies recovered

In Maharajganj, three bodies, including those of two women, were recovered on Thursday (August 27) after they were spotted in the strong current of the river. A Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) rescue team monitoring the river and adjoining areas retrieved the bodies using a motorboat and sent them to the district mortuary.

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Another three bodies were recovered from the Gandak in Kushinagar on Friday. The bodies were spotted near barrage pier number 3 in the Madanpur-Sukrauli area of Khadda, following which police and administrative officials reached the spot.

Khadda SHO Sandeep Singh said the bodies were spotted by monitoring teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and were subsequently retrieved from the river.

The bodies were in a severely decomposed condition and could not be identified immediately. Authorities have kept them at local mortuaries and shared details with officials in Nepal to help match them with missing-person records and trace their families.

River carries debris from Nepal

The bodies are not the only signs of the devastation that have reached Indian territory. A large amount of debris, including vehicles, household belongings, furniture, gas cylinders, drums and logs, has been washing up along the banks of the Gandak.

Large numbers of villagers have been gathering along the river to retrieve items being carried downstream. The district administration has warned people against entering the river or attempting to salvage the material and has asked them to inform officials instead if they spot bodies or other objects in the water.

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The flash floods in Nepal began on August 26 following a sudden surge in the Bhotekoshi river in the Rasuwa region. The floodwaters subsequently flowed into the Trishuli and Gandak river systems, carrying the impact downstream into India.

Monitoring stepped up

Authorities in Maharajganj and Kushinagar have increased surveillance along vulnerable stretches of the river, with SSB, SDRF, police and district administration teams monitoring the situation.

Although water levels in the Gandak have started to decline and the immediate threat of flooding has eased, officials remain on alert, particularly in riverside villages.

The recovery of the bodies has added to the grim aftermath of the disaster in Nepal, where hundreds of people have been killed and many remain missing.

Officials said they were continuing to coordinate with Nepalese authorities to establish the identities of those recovered from the river and determine whether they were among those reported missing after the floods and landslides.