Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

Video Credit: CEN

This footage allegedly shows bin bags filled with human remains that have been abandoned in a warehouse prompting the suspension of a cemetery’s activities pending a health and safety investigation.

After the video was posted on social media, the local authorities have reportedly suspended all burials and exhumations at the Playa Ancha Cemetery in the city of Valparaiso in the central Chilean region of the same name.

Regional health secretary Francisco Alvarez confirmed the suspension and said that health checks will be carried out to ensure it is a safe working environment for cemetery employees.

He said: “We have halted operations at the cemetery for burials and exhumations due to the new and serious failure in working practices that could affect the health of employees and members of the public as well as the dignity of the people buried there.”

Reports said that the order followed the release of the video, filmed by an outraged relative of a buried person in the cemetery and shared online.

A cemetery spokesperson confirmed that the footage was filmed on their grounds and said that the remains are for dead people who were unclaimed by their loved ones.

The statement called the pile of bin bags a “transitory state” and said that they would be transferred to a final resting place following the health authority’s request.

Meanwhile, the incident is also being investigated by the police.

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