Several coffins were left dangling in the air after a cemetery building collapse in Naples, Italy.
The collapse of the marble burial niche left numerous bodies exposed, according to the ANSA news agency. The structure is believed to have collapsed due to recent rains.
The burial niche was four stories tall, according to the Guardian, and at least a dozen coffins were left dangling in the air. The collapse occurred in Naples’s biggest and oldest cemetery, Poggioreale cemetery, and is the second such incident to have occurred this year.
Extraordinary photo shows coffins dangling, after collapse of cemetery in #Naples. Deceased are buried in niches of collapsed marble building. It has highlighted neglect & corruption of an industry captured by profiteers. It is the 2nd such collapse.
(pic: Cyro Fusco, EPA) #Italy pic.twitter.com/SmX5iddBIw— Cara Mia (@CaraMia200) October 19, 2022
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“The collapse occurred at 2:03 pm and after 15 minutes I was here with the firefighters. This morning we wanted a technical table with the Prefect of Naples in the presence of the mayor and with the firefighters and local health authorities. For a few minutes we have completed the inspection to evaluate the adjacent chapels and perhaps we will enlarge the area currently off-limits. In the next few days we will also evaluate the more distant chapels,” said Vincenzo Santagada, a Naples councilor with responsibility for cemeteries, according to Internapoli.
The collapse prompted protests outside the cemetery, mainly by relatives of the deceased inhabitants. They complained that authorities have neglected the cemeteries and not done enough to prevent such collapses from happening, especially after the occurrence earlier this year. In that previous incident, occurring in a building in another part of the cemetery, 300 burial niches were destroyed.
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“This is a critical and unacceptable situation. For too many years, cemeteries in Naples have been badly managed and left to fend for themselves, falling prey to swindlers and profiteers,” Francesco Emilio Borelli, a regional councilor for the Europa Verde party, said in a Facebook post, according to the Guardian.
