Only 7% of Bodies Identified in Nepal's Great Flood: Why?..."AI Facial Recognition Being Tested"

It has been reported that at the site of the massive floods in Nepal, it is difficult even to identify the bodies due to a shortage of personnel and technology.

According to local Nepali media, 1,377 bodies have been recovered so far from the major floods that occurred on August 26.

However, only 102 bodies, or 7.4%, have been identified and handed over to their bereaved families.

This is because Nepal lacks both the experts and the technological capability to conduct DNA tests.

Currently, there are only two places in Nepal capable of conducting DNA tests: the Central Forensic Science Laboratory of the Nepal Police and the National Forensic Science Laboratory under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Normally, these two institutions have handled fewer than 1,000 samples annually, but following the massive floods, over 2,600 samples have suddenly flooded in, causing difficulties in processing the tests.

In response, the Central Forensic Science Laboratory of the Nepal Police received support from 19 DNA experts from India, 4 from China, and the Korea Disaster Relief Team, but it is still falling short of handling the unprecedented workload.

In particular, it is reported that many bodies are found after being swept away in fierce muddy water or submerged for a long time, making it even difficult to extract DNA.

As identification through DNA testing has been delayed, the US AI technology company Naurtorkit has begun assisting Nepali authorities with an AI facial recognition system called "FaceTag."

The process involves analyzing the faces of the recovered bodies, comparing them with missing persons' photos, selecting individuals with a high probability of a match, and handing them over to Nepali authorities for official verification.

Naurtorkit stated that up until recently, about 500 missing persons have been registered in FaceTag, and the identities of 90 of them have been potentially confirmed.

However, as there are many damaged bodies that AI cannot identify, it is expected that identification will still take a considerable amount of time.

(Reported by Park Se-won | Video by Lee Eui-sun | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.