Kathmandu/chitwan, Aug. 30 -- Only 20 of the 669 bodies recovered after Wednesday's Bhotekoshi and Trishuli floods had been identified by relatives as of Saturday evening, leaving authorities racing to preserve evidence and find space for the dead as hospital mortuaries fill up and remains decompose.

Many of the dead were carried dozens of kilometres downstream from the flood's epicentre in Rasuwa through Nuwakot, while others were recovered mutilated or in pieces after being buried in mud and debris. With hospital mortuaries and temporary holding centres filling up and bodies beginning to decompose, authorities are preparing emergency burials after preserving DNA and other identifying records.

The government has issued an emergency dir...