The Camogli Cemetery, built more than 100 years ago, is situated along rocky cliffs. Camogli Mayor Francesco Olivari called the collapse an “unimaginable disaster”.
It is estimated that 200 coffins fell, but only ten were recovered, according to Giacomo Giampedrone, regional judge of civil protection. Recycling the rest of them, “will depend on the sea for days to come,” he added.
On Saturday, maintenance along the fragile coastline was abruptly stopped when workers noticed cracks in the rock.
“We were working on a section of the rocky coast – it was close to the area that fell today,” Olivari told CNN on Monday. ‘Some signs of cracks were seen. We decided to close the cemetery. ‘
He said they had called officials at the Ligurian Civil Protection Office to intervene and evaluate the situation. A team of geologists at the department is using drones to better understand the damage and determine if the danger of another landslide exists.
“This kind of collapse that took place today is very difficult to detect or predict,” Olivari said. “This area is subject to this type of collapse – it is very fragile.”
According to Giampedrone, the port authority of Genoa on Monday night blocked the coastal area under the cemetery to prevent the coffins from floating to the sea.
Officers on Tuesday, after investigating the site, said they would continue recycling coffins and corpses.