More than 200 coffins fell into the sea when the rock near a cemetery on the Italian coast collapsed, according to reports.
Workers at Camogli Cemetery, which was built more than 100 years ago off the coast of Genoa, first noticed a crack along the cemetery wall on Saturday during routine maintenance work, according to Mayor Francesco Olivari from Camogli.
“Some signs of cracks were observed. We decided to close the cemetery, “Olivari told CNN.
The 200 coffins were sent to sea when the rock collapsed on Monday.
The crews recovered 10 of the coffins. At least 190 were not found on Tuesday.
Finding the remaining coffins “will depend on the sea in the coming days,” according to regional civil protection assessor Giacomo Giampedrone.
On Monday, Giampedrone said the port authority had blocked the coastal area near the cemetery to prevent a coffin from floating in the sea.
“This type of collapse that happened today is very difficult to detect or predict,” Olivari said. “This area is subject to this type of collapse – it is very fragile.”
The Ligurian Civil Protection Office was called in to assess the situation and see if there is any additional potential for landslides, as well as to understand the true extent of the damage.
The mayor called the incident an “unimaginable catastrophe.”