Ganges COVID corpses

Dozens of rotting bodies were discovered floating in the Ganges River in India on Monday as the country’s COVID-19 crisis overwhelmed crematoriums and burial grounds.

At least 40 bodies washed ashore on the banks near the border between the Bihar and Uttar Pradesh districts.

“We have directed concerned officials to dispose of all bodies, to either bury or cremate them,” said Ashok Kumar, a Chausa official.

One person said, “There is a shortage of wood and other material required for cremation. Availability of these has taken a hit because of the lockdown,” forcing families to dump the “bodies of their departed relatives in the river.”

Media reports have suggested there were as many as 100 bodies, but Kumar said officials have yet to confirm that they were victims of coronavirus.