Photos: Symbolic funerals held in Nepal for missing flood victims

What the report says

Families in Nepal held symbolic funeral rites for relatives still missing after the August 26 flash flood that devastated parts of the Himalayan country, according to Al Jazeera’s photo report. The ceremonies took place at Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, where mourners performed Hindu cremation rituals using grass effigies in place of bodies that have not been recovered.

The report says the rites are intended to give spiritual closure and help “liberate the souls” of those presumed dead. In Hindu tradition, cremation is an important final ceremony, and for families unable to recover remains, the symbolic observance can offer a measure of release while they continue to wait for answers.

Authorities are also dealing with the practical challenge of identifying the dead. Al Jazeera reports that recovered bodies are being buried temporarily until they can be identified, with DNA samples preserved and identifying features photographed to support future matches with missing persons.

The disaster is described as one of the deadliest to hit Nepal in recent years, with more than 1,200 people killed and about 4,750 still missing across Nepal and China’s Tibet region. The flood’s mud and debris destroyed homes, roads, bridges and hydropower infrastructure, underscoring the scale of the damage and the difficulty of recovery efforts.