Video shows Italian army trucks transporting coffins from its worst-hit town to remote cremation sites because morgues can't cope with more coronavirus deaths
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Corriere TV
A convoy of Italian army trucks in Bergamo, Italy, on Wednesday night.
The Italian army has started ferrying dozens of coffins from Bergamo, its worst-hit town in the country's coronavirus crisis, to remote cremation sites because local morgues can't cope with the number of new deaths.
A convoy of at least ten military trucks was filmed passing through the northern Italian town on Wednesday night.Bergamo is Italy's worst hit town, with 93 deaths and 4,305 infections as of Wednesday, and the town's public services are in crisis.
Giorgio Gori, the mayor of Bergamo, wrote to neighboring towns for help with cremation, and said the ashes from the cremated bodies would be brought back to Bergamo, the local L'Ecio Di Bergamo reported.Corriere TV
An Italian army truck leaves a crematorium in Bergamo on Wednesday night.
There is a long waiting list for burials, and coffins were stacking up at two hospital morgues and a cemetery morgue.
Stefano Guidi/Getty Images
An Italian Army soldier stands guard in front of the Turin Synagogue during as Italy continues it nationwide lockdown to control the coronavirus pandemic.
Gori, Bergamo's mayor, said Wednesday that the number of coronavirus deaths in the town may be far higher than reported.
"There are significant numbers of people who have died but whose death hasn't been attributed to the coronavirus because they died at home or in a nursing home and so they weren't swabbed," he said, according to Reuters.
Mirco Nacoti, an anesthesiologist and intensive-care specialist, estimated to The Wall Street Journal Tuesday that 60% or more of Bergamo's population already has the coronavirus.Italian journalist David Carretta on Monday tweeted a video of himself leafing through the obituary pages of L'Ecio Di Bergamo newspaper. The obituary section, which was 1 1/2 pages in February, spanned 10 pages on March 13.
Italy has the largest aging population in Europe. The elderly and those with preexisting health conditions are most at risk of death from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.A #Bergamo hanno dovuto chiamare l'esercito per caricare camion e camion di bare da destinare a crematori fuori regione. Prima di lamentarvi della proroga del #lockdown riguardatevi sto video in loop.#coronavirusitalia pic.twitter.com/ofR1raGVTb
- Alessandro Zanoni (@AlexZan87) March 19, 2020
Bergamo daily newspaper pic.twitter.com/N3ECABz8dr
- David Carretta (@davcarretta) March 14, 2020
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