Burial pits from Iran's coronavirus outbreak have grown so large you can see them from space
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Mar 13, 2020, 23:00 IST
The satellite images, taken by the private space technology company Maxar Technologies and first reported by the Washington Post, show the Behesht-e Masoumeh complex in Qom (which includes the city's biggest cemetery). The image below is an overview of the cemetery on October 29.
Back in late October, the satellite imagery suggested significant portions of the cemetery were not being used.
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But it was clear more of the cemetery was being used by early March — just weeks after the first coronavirus case was declared in Iran on February 19.
Iranian authorities dug two new trenches, both about 100 yards, that were visible from space. The images suggest that graves are being hurriedly dug, which underscores the scale of the outbreak in Iran — and the difficulties officials are having in quelling it. The newly dug lines can be seen in the middle plot of graves on the right side of the image.
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What appears to be a pile of lime is also visible. Lime is sometimes used in mass graves to help slow decay and reduce odor, and Iranian authorities have said they're using it in the burials of coronavirus victims.
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