LUCKNOW:In a grim consequence of the catastrophic deluge upstream in Nepal, bodies of flood victims have begun crossing international borders, washing up on the shores of Uttar Pradesh, as Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel retrieved three corpses, including two women, from the currents of river Gandak in the Maharajganj district of eastern UP.
As per sources, SSB jawans, while patrolling, spotted the bloated bodies floating near the border outposts.
The team used a motorboat to retrieve the bodies and sent them to the mortuary at the district headquarters, officials informed.
Necessary procedures were being carried out to establish their identities, while the SSB and district administration are in touch with the authorities concerned in Nepal to trace their relatives, said the authorities.
SSB Inspector Arun Pandey said three bodies believed to have been swept into the Gandak from Nepal had so far been recovered in Indian territory.
Meanwhile, the local administration has initiated contact with counterparts in Nepal to share physical descriptions of the bodies recovered in order to trace their families.
The sources said that the extreme force of the flash flood carried those victims nearly 150 kilometres downstream through Nepal, drifting them into Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile, with rivers flowing well above the danger mark, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered continuous monitoring of all border embankments.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been deployed along river banks in Maharajganj, Kushinagar, and neighbouring Bihar to watch for further casualties and manage potential overflow.