Families in Kathmandu hold symbolic cremations for 5,000 missing flood victims

Relatives in Kathmandu are performing cremations for missing flood victims even though no bodies have been recovered, a practice that has become a painful necessity in the wake of the August 26 flash floods that left more than 1,200 dead and nearly 5,000 missing.

The deluge struck northern and central Nepal with force, tearing through villages, roads and hydropower sites. The river systems swelled, and the high‑altitude towns of Rasuwa and surrounding districts were hit hardest. Families that had been on pilgrimage or working at the Upper Trishuli 1 plant found their loved ones vanished in the torrent. With no bodies found, mourners turn to symbolic last rites, placing effigies of sacred kusha grass on the Brahmanal beside the Bagmati River and performing prayers and offerings to honor the dead.

Sujan Achhami, 23, carried a body to the riverbank nine days after his father, Dinesh, disappeared. He washed the corpse, lit a clay lamp and listened to mantras read by a priest. In other cases, families like Khim Bahadur Gharti Magar’s have performed the same rites using grass effigies, saying the ritual gives the deceased a dignified farewell. Magar’s uncle, Tham Bahadur Pun, 71, and aunt, Chausara Pun, 64, were among the 17 pilgrims who perished; the group’s bodies were found in scattered pieces, prompting the decision to cremate the remains. Sher Bahadur Pun, a senior health official, says relatives have provided DNA samples to police, hoping the bodies can be identified later.

The Nepal Police, led by spokesman Abi Narayan Kafle, admit that the sheer volume of victims has strained their capacity to preserve bodies. Many remains are already decomposed or fragmented, making long‑term storage impossible. The police are therefore temporarily burying unidentified bodies with the intention of exhuming them once identities are confirmed. The practice of symbolic cremations reflects a cultural need to give closure while the administrative process lags. As the country grapples with the aftermath, families continue to seek answers, hoping that the bodies of their missing loved ones will one day be recovered and identified.