KATHMANDU – The death toll from the deadly mudslide in Nepal has crossed the 1,300 mark, the Nepal Police said on Saturday.

According to the latest details released by police, as many as 1,344 bodies had been recovered by 5 am local time Saturday.

Police said 4,898 people remained out of contact as of Saturday morning, and 8,631 people have been rescued so far, as security agencies continue search and rescue operations in the mudslide-affected areas.

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Authorities have also intensified efforts to identify bodies through DNA testing. DNA samples have been collected from 1,260 deceased people and 972 relatives of the deceased, bringing the total number of samples collected to 2,232.