A dedicated DNA desk has been set up at Bengaluru’s Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital to collect samples from relatives of Karnataka residents missing after flash floods in Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region, helping authorities identify unidentified bodies and arrange repatriation.
The hospital has been designated as Bengaluru’s nodal centre for the process. A nodal officer told Deccan Herald that DNA profiling will be used when missing people cannot be identified through photographs or other available details.
First-degree relatives, including parents, spouses, siblings and children, can approach the designated nodal officers at the hospital to provide samples. They must carry a recent photograph of the missing person, identity proof and documents establishing their relationship with the person reported missing.
A separate desk has been established at the hospital to streamline sample collection and guide families through the procedure. Three people had submitted samples by Saturday evening, while more relatives were expected to approach the facility over the following two days, the nodal officer said.
The collected samples will be sent to the State Forensic Science Laboratory in Madiwala for DNA profiling. The profiles will then be compared with DNA profiles prepared by authorities in Nepal as part of the identification process.
Several Karnataka residents were reported missing after flash floods struck areas along the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26. Details compiled by the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority indicate that around 26 Karnataka residents remain missing in Nepal, including 17 from Bengaluru.
The DNA process is intended to support identification where visual recognition or available personal information is insufficient. It will also assist authorities in matching unidentified bodies with missing-person reports and facilitating the repatriation of identified remains to Karnataka.
Relatives seeking clarification or assistance can contact the Greater Bengaluru Authority helpline at 1533. The Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital remains the designated Bengaluru centre for DNA sample collection from eligible close relatives.
