NEW YORK (VINnews) — A cliff on the shore near Genoa, Italy collapsed into the sea Monday due to erosion and hundreds of coffins from a 100-year-old cemetery situated on the cliff fell into the sea at the same time. Two chapels were also swept onto rocks below the graveyard, according to a BBC report.
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The village mayor, Francesco Olivari ,described the scene as an “unimaginable catastrophe”, although the region is prone to landslides and cliff collapses. Video clips showed emergency workers in boats searching for the estimated 200 coffins in the waters off Camogli, near Genoa.
200 coffins fell down a cliff after part of a cemetery in Camogli, Italy collapsed on Monday. Recovery operations are underway for coffins that ended up in the water. It's believed erosion lead to the collapse. pic.twitter.com/Xu0v9o391y
— WJZ | CBS Baltimore (@wjz) February 25, 2021
“This type of collapse that happened today is very hard to detect or to predict,” , Olivari told CNN.
Local workers had noticed cracks in the cliffs recently and realised there was a risk of collapse in the days before, authorities explained.
“The area had also been cordoned off because in the the last few days there had been strange creaking sounds,” Camogli councillor Tino Revello told Italian news agency Ansa.
Workers close by captured footage of the moment the walls began to shake and crack. Seconds later, they broke apart and crashed down into the sea beneath the fishing village.
Breathtaking footage of a whole cemetery segment collapsing from a cliff to the sea in the area of Genoa.
Warning graphics pic.twitter.com/J1Zh29sMjV
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) February 22, 2021
Some 10 of the estimated 200 coffins have been recovered by rescue workers.