According to reports, more than 200 coffins collapsed into the sea when the cliff collapsed near a cemetery on the coast of Italy.
According to Francesco Olivari, the mayor of Camogli, workers at the Camogli Cemetery, which was built near the Genoa coast more than 100 years ago, first noticed a crack along the cemetery wall during routine maintenance on Saturday.
Some signs of clefts were seen. We decided to close the cemetery, ”Olivari told CNN.
The 200 coffins were sent into the sea on Monday when the cliff collapsed.
Crews recovered 10 of the coffins. At least 190 were missing on Tuesday.
Finding the remaining coffins “will depend on the sea in the coming days,” said regional civil defense assessor Giacomo Giampedrone.
As of Monday, Giampedrone said the port authority has blocked the coastal area near the cemetery to prevent coffins from floating out to sea.
“This kind of collapse that happened today is very difficult to detect or predict,” said Olivari. “This area is subject to this kind of collapse – it’s very fragile.”
The Civil Protection Office in Liguria was called in to assess the situation and see if further landslides were possible and to understand the true extent of the damage.
The mayor called this incident an “unimaginable disaster”.