Vatican eases rules on the ashes of the dead
Vatican City Reuters A small part of a dead person’s cremated ashes may be stored in a place that was dear to them rather than in a church or cemetery, the Vatican said on Tuesday, softening its previous stance on the issue. In previous guidance from 2016, the Vatican said the ashes must be kept […]
Sobbing relatives of Nepal quake victims cremate loved ones
Chiuri, Nepal Reuters Sobbing relatives of victims from Nepal’s worst earthquake in eight years cremated their loved ones on Sunday as rescuers looked for people who could still be trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings. Surrounding about 10 bodies shrouded in white cloth in a tarpaulin tent, relatives prepared garlands of marigolds for the […]
Libya’s flood-ravaged Derna struggles to cope with thousands of corpses
Derna, Libya Reuters Residents and rescue workers in the devastated Libyan city of Derna are struggling to cope with the thousands of corpses washing up or decaying under rubble, after a flood that smashed down buildings and swept people to sea. The World Health Organization and other aid groups urged authorities in Libya to stop […]
Hearses queue at Beijing crematorium, even as China reports no new COVID deaths
Beijing, China Reuters Dozens of hearses queued outside a Beijing crematorium on Wednesday, even as China reported no new COVID-19 deaths in its growing outbreak, sparking criticism of its virus accounting as the capital braces for a surge of cases. After widespread protests, the country of 1.4 billion people this month began dismantling its unpopular […]
“So many bodies piled up”: Hong Kong funeral services overwhelmed by COVID
Hong Kong, China Reuters Traditional wooden coffins are running short in Hong Kong as authorities scramble to add mortuary space in the global financial hub’s battle on COVID-19, which is swamping funeral parlours. “I have never seen so many bodies piled up together,” said funeral director Lok Chung, 37, who has been working round the […]
A Sustainable Life: Funerals will hit 100 million a year by 2060 – here’s how to make them more sustainable
JULIE RUGG, a researcher at the University of York, says – in an article published on The Conversation – that the way we deal with human remains means balancing three major principles…
Bodies float down Ganges as nearly 4,000 more die of COVID in India
Lucknow, India Reuters Scores of bodies are washing up on the banks of the Ganges as Indians fail to keep pace with the deaths and cremations of around 4,000 people a day from the novel coronavirus. India currently accounts for one in three of the reported deaths from coronavirus around the world, according to a […]
India crowdfunds millions for its weary crematorium workers
Mumbai, India Thomson Reuters Foundation Pity the undertakers – burying and burning all day long, chanting deep into the night yet never keeping pace with the corpses of India’s COVID-19 crisis. And all for what? “For every one body that I perform last rites for, there are a dozen more waiting. There is no social […]
Non-stop cremations cast doubt on India’s counting of COVID dead
Ahmedabad/Lucknow/New Delhi, India Reuters Gas and firewood furnaces at a crematorium in the western Indian state of Gujarat have been running so long without a break during the COVID-19 pandemic that metal parts have begun to melt. “We are working around the clock at 100 per cent capacity to cremate bodies on time,” Kamlesh Sailor, […]