Four unidentified bodies were recovered from a river in Uttar Pradesh's Maharajganj district, with authorities suspecting they may have drifted into India from flood-ravaged Nepal, officials said on Friday.
The bodies were found in a highly decomposed state and have been kept at the Maharajganj district hospital mortuary. Officials are coordinating with Nepalese authorities to establish the identities of the deceased and determine whether they are among those reported missing in the devastating floods and landslides across Nepal.
District Magistrate Gaurav Singh Sogarwal said, “Four bodies have so far been recovered and kept in the mortuary. We are in contact with the Nepal administration regarding the matter.” He added that the flood threat in the district has eased as river flow has reduced and that the situation remains normal.
Maharajganj, which shares a border with Nepal, had been placed on high alert after the neighbouring country’s flash floods. Revenue, police, SSB and SDRF teams have been monitoring rivers and vulnerable areas round the clock.
The Nepal disaster, triggered by an ice-rock landslide near the China border, has claimed at least 538 lives, while hundreds remain missing. The floods have damaged roads, bridges and communication networks across several districts.
Meanwhile, Bihar has intensified monitoring of major rivers, including the Ganga, Gandak and Kosi, as rising water levels downstream have pushed several stretches above the danger mark.