An area of rocky cliffs on the Italian coast near Genoa was the scene of a landslide on Monday, which caused the collapse of a cemetery there.
CNN reported that the collapse of the Camogli Cemetery caused hundreds of coffins to fall into the sea. The cemetery was built more than 100 years ago along the rocky cliffs by the sea.
Francesco Olivari, the mayor of Camogli, called the collapse an “unimaginable catastrophe,” quoted CNN.
While the number of cases in coffins is estimated at 200, CNN quoted Giacomo Giampedrone, regional civil defense assessor, as saying that “only 10 have been recovered” and recovery of the rest “depends on the sea in the coming days.”
Maintenance carried out along the fragile shoreline was abruptly halted Saturday after workers noticed cracks in the rock, CNN said.
CNN quoted Olivari, telling them Monday, “We were working on part of the rocky coast – it was close to the area that fell today.” He added: ‘Some signs of clefts were seen. We decided to close the cemetery. “
Olivari told CNN officials from the Ligurian Civil Protection Agency were called “to intervene and evaluate the situation.” He explained that drones are being used by a team of geologists from the department, “to get a better picture of the damage and determine if there is a danger of another landslide.”
“This kind of collapse that happened today is very difficult to detect or predict,” said Olivari. “This area is subject to this type of collapse – it is very vulnerable,” said CNN.
Giampedrone said the coastal area below the cemetery was blocked by the Genoa port authority on Monday evening to prevent the boxes from drifting to sea, CNN reported.
CNN added that officials in investigating the site on Tuesday stated that work on recovering the coffins and corpses will continue.
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