A Melbourne chef is spending several hours each night reviewing photographs of unidentified victims from Nepal's August 26 flood disaster, looking for clothing, jewellery, tattoos and other details that could help families identify missing relatives.
Sonia Patil has no reported personal connection to Nepal. After seeing families searching for relatives following the disaster, she decided to help by examining photographs published by Nepali authorities, according to reporting by The Guardian published Thursday.
Patil works after completing her shifts as a chef. She reportedly spends another four to five hours going through photographs and recording details that could potentially connect an unidentified victim with a missing-person report. The information is then shared through Facebook groups used by families and volunteers searching for people who disappeared in the disaster.
The work is difficult because many recovered bodies and remains have been badly damaged. Visual clues can help generate a possible match, but they do not establish a person's identity.
Nepal Police is maintaining an online database of unidentified bodies recovered after the disaster. Its records include photographs and details such as the location where a body was found, estimated age and sex, registration number and the facility where the remains are being held.
The police database shows unidentified victims recovered across several districts, including Rasuwa, Chitwan, Nuwakot, Nawalparasi and Tanahun. Some records date back to August 26, the day the disaster struck.
Patil is also part of a wider volunteer network involving people in several countries, according to The Guardian. When volunteers believe they have found a possible match, families are encouraged to pursue DNA testing or other official identification procedures rather than treating the visual match as confirmation.
That distinction is important. Forensic experts have warned that identifying victims from photographs alone can be extremely difficult as bodies deteriorate. DNA profiling, dental records and other forensic methods can provide more reliable identification.
The Australian connection is particularly relevant for the diaspora. Australia has sent a 15-member Disaster Assistance Response Team to Nepal, including specialist drone operators, while Australian Federal Police disaster-victim-identification experts have also been deployed to assist with the response.
The volunteer effort illustrates another way the Nepali diaspora and wider communities abroad are responding to the disaster: by helping families organise information and search remotely while official rescue and identification operations continue in Nepal.
For families searching for missing relatives, however, volunteer findings should be treated only as leads. Final identification must come through the appropriate authorities and forensic procedures.
