In one Nepal district, flood catastrophe is measured in bodies and burial trenches

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The devastating flash floods in the Himalayan region swept so many people downstream that authorities in one Nepalese district have begun burying bodies in temporary graves before they can be identified, prompting accusations that Hindu funeral traditions are being ignored.

In south-central Nepal's Chitwan district, the scale of the catastrophe was evident in some 250 bodies awaiting identification and the hastily dug trenches for their temporary burial following Wednesday’s catastrophic floods and mudslides, which killed at least 800 people and left more than 3,000 missing in Nepal and Tibet.

The bodies were carried hundreds of kilometers downstream by the Bhotekoshi River from the flood's epicenter before being recovered in Chitwan.

Authorities carried out a temporary burial of about 100 victims on Saturday, officials said, as forensic teams struggled to cope. A convoy of vehicles carrying bodies entered a lush, forested area as an excavator dug a wide trench in the red earth while officials and media looked on.

Anil Thapa, a police inspector coordinating the handling of the bodies, said another 50 bodies were having DNA samples taken ahead of their likely burial Sunday.

Authorities preserve the DNA samples, photograph distinguishing facial features and record other identifying details, Thapa said. The bodies are assigned a reference number to help families claim them later.

Thapa said many of the bodies had remained submerged in floodwaters for about four days and were already decomposing by the time they were recovered.

Across the region, homes, vehicles and farm tractors still lay partially buried in mud.

Limited forensic infrastructure and inadequate morgue capacity in the district further strained efforts to manage the overwhelming number of bodies recovered from the disaster, officials said.

High humidity and sweltering heat accelerated decomposition, compounding the challenges as health experts warned that leaving the remains exposed could increase the risk of disease.

Fresh landslides in the area on Sunday closed the main highway linking the capital city of Kathmandu and Chitwan, a day after it partially reopened, complicating efforts to move bodies and relief supplies.

As survivors grappled with the aftermath, criticism of the burials mounted. Some residents said the dead had waited days for their last rites and were denied dignity in death. Families still waiting to locate missing relatives and some public figures questioned whether authorities moved too quickly.

The issue is particularly sensitive in Nepal, a predominantly Hindu nation where the dead are traditionally cremated.

Ruby Chaudhary, who has two missing relatives, said the burials should not proceed without families’ consent.

“The dead deserve to be treated with dignity,” she said. “Our tradition is to cremate them on the riverbank, surrounded by their immediate family.”

A former prime minister, Baburam Bhattarai, said it was inappropriate to dispose of unidentified bodies before search and rescue operations were complete and without broader consultation with families of the missing.

If morgues were insufficient, authorities could have mobilized emergency resources to set up temporary morgues or secure cold storage facilities, he said in a social media post Saturday night.

Officials said the burials were a temporary measure necessitated by health concerns and limited capacity.

“People are worried that this could be a permanent burial, but it is only temporary management,” Thapa said. “If someone is able to verify the identity later using the available information, they can take back the body and perform the appropriate funeral rites.”

Amrit Bahadur Rai, Nepal’s foreign secretary, said the temporary burial of unidentified bodies was carried out in line with internationally accepted disaster-management protocols, including those of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

“Families can match records later, and will be allowed to exhume (the remains later) for necessary rituals,” Rai said at a press briefing in Kathmandu.

Hussain reported from New Delhi, India

People inquire about the bodies of their relatives killed in flash floods at a mortuary in Chitwan, Nepal, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Nisha Shrestha)

An earthmover digs a burial site for a mass burial of flash floods victims, in Chitwan, Nepal, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Nisha Shrestha)

Rescuers carry bodies of flash flood victims for a mass burial, in Chitwan, Nepal, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Nisha Shrestha)

Rescuers keep bodies of flash flood victims in mortuary before a mass burial in Chitwan, Nepal, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Nisha Shrestha)

Rescuers carry bodies of flash flood victims for a mass burial in Chitwan, Nepal, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Nisha Shrestha)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The death toll from a Russian strike on a warehouse west of Kyiv, the war's deadliest attack so far this year, rose to 38 with four people still missing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media Sunday.

The strike on Friday night on the warehouse — an ammunition storage facility according to Ukrainian officials — sparked massive explosions and fires that swept through dozens of nearby homes and buildings.

Emergency workers continued to extinguish fires and identify and neutralize explosive devices at the site in the village of Myla, Zelenskyy added. He said 20 people were injured, including two children.

On Saturday, Zelenskyy called the Myla attack “a terrible situation” and a consequence of “terrible negligence on the part of those who stored explosives right next to people.” He said a probe was underway into how and why the ammunition came to be kept there.

Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said on Sunday it is preparing to launch “massive strikes” against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, following a Ukrainian drone campaign against a retailer dubbed “Russia's Amazon” as well as the country's oil and gas sector, which Kyiv says both funds and directly fuels Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian ministry described the planned attacks as a response to Kyiv’s “ongoing attacks on Russia’s civilian infrastructure and fuel and energy sector.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Sunday vowed “an appropriate response” to what he said was Ukraine’s “path of escalation” and targeting of Russia’s civilian economy.

Peskov told Russian state media that Moscow has been launching “fairly systematic” strikes on what he called Kyiv's military and war-related infrastructure.

Ukraine launched deadly strikes in recent months on the facilities of Russia’s biggest online retailer, Wildberries, saying the company sells dual-use goods that have aided the Kremlin’s war effort. Ukrainian drones have also pounded Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure, prompting an unprecedented fuel crisis in a country that is one of the world’s biggest energy producers.

During the war’s previous winters, Russia systematically battered Ukraine’s power grid, depriving thousands of heat and light in freezing temperatures. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned that the coming winter may prove the most challenging since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ukraine’s new Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara said the ministry has options for closing the $27 billion defense funding gap he inherited from his predecessor, including seeking more contributions from partners.

Khmara made the remarks at his first briefing with reporters since taking the post on Saturday. His appointment followed weeks of protests after Mykhailo Fedorov's dismissal that sparked a military reset in Kyiv and culminated in a video in which Fedorov called for elections. Khmara's comments were released for publication on Sunday.

Khmara, a former special forces officer who left military service to become a civilian minister, takes over as Kyiv's war effort faces mounting financial pressures. He said a priority will be avoiding battlefield shortages while ensuring soldiers are paid and other essential needs are met.

The ministry is considering bringing forward part of a 90-billion-euro ($104-billion) European loan planned for next year, and has identified partners for separate talks on financing specific defense needs, he said.

“Ukraine will show its partners a clear vision and a clear plan,” he vowed, adding he planned to preserve much of the existing ministry team.

Also on Sunday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces downed or neutralized almost 500 Ukrainian drones launched overnight.

Independent news channels on Russian and Ukrainian Telegram claimed the drone strikes set fire to a major oil refinery in Kirishi, southeast of St Petersburg. The facility, Kirishi Petroleum Organic Synthesis, is one of Russia’s largest oil refineries and the only one in the country’s northwest.

There was no immediate confirmation from authorities, but local Gov. Alexander Drozdenko on Sunday reported that a fire broke “in Kirishi’s industrial zone” following the drone strikes. He said a total of 62 drones had been shot down over the surrounding region.

Separately, at least three people were injured in a Russian drone strike on Kyiv late Saturday, as air raid alerts continued throughout the day.

A fire broke out between the second and fifth floor of a 12-story residential building in the Obolonskyi district, and rescue workers responded to fires in another three districts of the capital, state emergency services said Sunday. Non-residential and administrative buildings in two locations were affected, they said.

Russia on Sunday said its drones struck a Kyiv plant making asbestos and cement products, claiming the site's warehouses were being used to store explosives.

People observe a daily nationwide minute of silence in memory of soldiers killed in the war with Russia, in Kyiv, Ukraine Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Emergency workers inspect bodies of civilians killed in the severely damaged nursing home for the elderly and people with disabilities following Russia's air attack, in the village of Myla, Kyiv region, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

Police check the body of a driver after a Russian attack struck a warehouse, followed by an explosion, in the village of Myla, Kyiv region, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

Police officers inspect the area, after a Russian attack struck a warehouse, followed by an explosion, in the village of Myla, Kyiv region, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

A view of a destroyed car amid damaged buildings, with a road sign showing the direction and distance to Kyiv and Zhytomyr after a Russian attack struck a warehouse, followed by an explosion, in the village of Myla, Kyiv region, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)