An area of rocky cliffs by the sea on the Italian coast near Genoa, was the scene of a landslide on Monday, which caused a cemetery to collapse there.
CNN reported that the collapse of the Camogli cemetery caused hundreds of coffins to fall into the sea. The cemetery was built along the rocky cliffs by the sea, more than 100 years ago.
Francesco Olivari, the mayor of Camogli, called the collapse an “unimaginable catastrophe”, quoted CNN.
Although the number of fallen coffins is estimated at 200, CNN cited Giacomo Giampedrone, a regional civil protection adviser, who said that “only 10 have been recovered” and that the rest of the recovery “will depend on the sea in the next few days.”
Maintenance along the fragile coastline was abruptly halted on Saturday after workers noticed cracks in the rock, CNN said.
CNN quoted Olivari, who told them on Monday: “We were working on a part of the rocky coast – it was close to the area that fell today.” He added: “Some signs of cracks have been seen. We decided to close the cemetery. “
Olivari told CNN that officials from the Civil Protection Office in Liguria were called on to “intervene and assess the situation”. He explained that drones are being used by a team of geologists in the department, “to get a better sense of the damage and to determine if there is a danger of another landslide.”
“This type 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 fragile,” quoted CNN.
Giampedrone said that on Monday night, to prevent the coffins from floating into the sea, the coastal area below the cemetery was blocked by the Genoa port authority, CNN reported.
CNN added that in researching the site, authorities said on Tuesday that the work to recover the coffins and corpses would continue.
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