Town's Cemetery Collapse an 'Unimaginable Catastrophe'

An "unimaginable catastrophe" has befallen a town near Genoa, Italy, where hundreds of coffins that long rested in a seaside cemetery fell some 160 feet toward the Mediterranean Sea on Monday. CNN reports that as many as 200 coffins were swept up in a landslide in Camogli, and only a handful have been recovered, with some in the sea and others buried under rocks and debris. A regional official says reclaiming the rest "will depend on the sea in the coming days." The Independent has a quote from a woman who spoke to local media and fears her father's ashes are forever lost: "My legs are shaking, it's like he's dead again." The Local has video taken by cemetery workers—who on Saturday spotted signs of fissures in the rocks along the coastline—that captures the moment of the collapse. Coastal erosion was likely the cause. (More cemetery stories.)