Death Toll Reaches 1,377 as DNA Work Outpaces New Rescues

in #nepal9 days ago

This is a special report in our Bhote Koshi / Rasuwa flood .

Sixteen days after the surge, Thursday’s NDRRMA / PTI count is 1,377 recovered and about 5,130 missing. No one new has walked out of a tunnel since Saturday.


Thursday’s numbers

NDRRMA via PTI, 10 September 2026

  • 1,377 bodies recovered (Wednesday 6 p.m. was 1,369; MoFA Wednesday 2 p.m. was 1,367)
  • 5,130 missing (Wednesday evening 5,132)
  • 13,656 rescued
  • two more flood patients died in Kathmandu hospitals

Recovered by district (Thursday)

PlaceBodies
Chitwan364
Nawalparasi East228
Nawalparasi West222
Nuwakot198
Rasuwa178
Gorkha77
Dhading70
Tanahun38

The missing list still includes about 587 foreigners, Rasuwa’s mix of local residents, visitors, 45 Army / 25 Police / 12 Armed Police, and bank and government staff. Nuwakot’s slice remains in the high hundreds of residents plus more than a thousand people from other districts.

Tibet / Gyirong has not issued a large new jump in the last two days. Earlier Chinese figures were about 43 dead and 519 missing.


Identification is now the main operation

Only 102 recovered bodies had been named and handed over by Wednesday. That is why the dead and the missing still sit side by side.

Wednesday briefings on the forensic track:

  • 2,698 DNA samples — 1,286 from victims, 1,412 from relatives
  • 1,147 bodies temporarily buried after sampling
  • details of about 1,310 unidentified remains posted on the Nepal Police site

Families can still give samples at the District Police Office with two photographs and proof of kinship.


The tunnels have not answered

Disaster chief Dharma Raj Upreti told Reuters the live hunt is now three places: Chilime, Upper Trishuli-3A and 3B. About 121 of the roughly 900 missing hydropower workers are still thought to be in tunnels. Oxygen is being piped. New gear has gone in.

At Chilime, a joint team with foreign specialists had pushed about 100 metres with generators and mud pumps. At Upper Trishuli-1, crews have used rafts at Haku.

The live score is unchanged since 5 September:

  • Sanjay Sah and Kabir Maharjan — Trishuli-3A
  • Lu Haitao — Trishuli-1
  • Chandika Kumari Shrestha — Betrawati house

MoFA’s Wednesday note counted only the three tunnel survivors in that live list. The Betrawati rescue stands separately. Either way, day 16 has not added a fifth name.


Aid that actually landed

India’s eighth IAF relief flight reached Kathmandu on Wednesday. New Delhi’s running total is now more than 130 tonnes. Local cash is still arriving in small packets: NNJS put Rs 14.14 million into the Prime Minister’s fund; hotel groups, courts and rural municipalities added more this week.

The reconstruction bill from earlier posts — about Rs 387.5 billion / $2.56 billion, plus a roads-and-bridges rebuild nearer Rs 50 billion — has not been replaced by a new official total.


What Thursday changes

Tuesday’s post closed at 1,357 recovered and 5,326 missing.
Two days later the recovered count is 1,377, the missing list is still above 5,100, DNA sampling has passed 2,600, and the tunnels have gone quiet.

Keep riverbanks clear. Missing-person queries: rescue.opmcm.gov.np, 1234, Police 100, NDRRMA 1155. Official donations: pmdrf.nchl.com.np.

#Nepal #Rasuwa #Flood #NDRRMA #Trishuli #Chilime #Steemit


Sources

  1. NDRRMA / PTI / The Hindu Business Line / The Tribune, 10 September 2026 — 1,377 recovered, 5,130 missing, 13,656 rescued; district table.
  2. NDRRMA 6 p.m. 9 September / Kantipur / ANI — 1,369 recovered, 5,132 missing, 13,646 rescued.
  3. Ministry of Foreign Affairs daily update, 9 September 2026, 14:00 NPT — 1,367 recovered; ~5,100 missing.
  4. Nepal News, 9 September — 2,698 DNA samples; 1,147 buried after sampling; 1,310 profiles on Police site.
  5. Reuters, 8 September — tunnel focus on Chilime, Trishuli-3A and 3B; ~121 workers possibly still inside.
  6. ANI, 9 September — India’s eighth aid flight; 130+ tonnes.
  7. Previous series post: 1,357 Recovered, 5,326 Missing…

Research and editing note

Researched and drafted with Grok (xAI). Recovered totals moved 1,357 → 1,367 → 1,369 → 1,377 across 48 hours. Missing totals still bounce between ledgers. All figures remain provisional.