A huge landslide swept away the cemetery of Camogli and the road below. The landslide caused a portion of the city cemetery to collapse into the sea.
CAbout two hundred coffins were swept away by the landslide and some ended up in the sea in Camogli following the collapse of a portion of the cemetery, located on the coastline of the tourist resort, about 50 meters above sea level. The landslide also destroyed and caused two chapels with the bodies inside to slide into the water. The collapse was apparently caused by the erosion of the cliff below the cemetery area, most likely aggravated by the violent storm surges that have hit Liguria in recent years.
Tino Revello, Councilor for Public Works of the Municipality of Camogli, explained that the area had been under observation for some time and work was underway to consolidate the rocky cliff below the cemetery: "the area had also been cordoned off because strange creaking noises had been heard in recent days". Teams of firefighter divers, Coast Guard boats and the firefighters themselves, as well as a Fire Brigade helicopter, went to the site of the collapse.
"10 coffins have been recovered: the collapse of the cemetery involves a portion of about 200 burial niches, all occupied according to the Municipality. Oceanic barriers have been placed in the sea to prevent the material from going out to sea and tomorrow geologists will make assessments with drones to understand the danger index, both to evaluate sending people safely down there to recover coffins, but also because on one side there is the road and a series of houses, about 4".
“The Municipality had received almost 500 thousand euros in funding to intervene in the parts to the west and east of the collapsed area – continues Giampedrone – They had not planned anything on the collapsed area because it was an area that had already undergone interventions in the past and they considered it more 'solid' than the others. They had already intervened in part on the indicated areas, in part, on the western portion, they had started the work about twenty days ago and fortunately today no one was working there. The Municipality had started to clear the entire adjacent area, when signs of subsidence had been seen since the early hours of this morning”. The road that runs alongside the cemetery is one-way at the moment, traffic is only in the most internal area. The in-depth assessment to assess the risk of the area could last a few days. “Obviously we are not leaving the municipal administration to do everything alone – explains the councilor – I have called another meeting for tomorrow at 13 pm, in order to have more data, to evaluate whether there is more material to clear away”. All the recovered coffins are meanwhile being placed by the Municipality of Camogli in an area adjacent to the cemetery, which is a mortuary area. Starting tomorrow, the regional civil protection will set up tents where other coffins can be placed. It will always be up to the Municipality to notify the families assigned to the burial niches affected by the collapse. Spirits are certainly not calm, according to what is currently leaking out in the town.
Article published on 22 February 2021 - 22:32
