Police discovered dozens of bodies decomposing in two trucks parked outside a funeral home in New York City April 29, according to The New York Times.
Neighbors had called 911 to report a foul odor coming from a tractor-trailer and U-Haul truck at the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home. Police found several dozen bodies stacked in body bags in the trucks. It is unclear how many of these individuals died from COVID-19, although NYT noted the city's morgues, cemeteries and hospital mortuaries have been strained over the past few weeks due to the pandemic.
Andrew Cleckley, the funeral home's owner, said he was using the trucks as overflow storage after filling his chapel with more than 100 bodies. He hasn't been able to purchase a refrigerated trailer to supplement his storage space due to shortages.
"I ran out of space," he told NYT during an April 30 interview. "Bodies are coming out of our ears."
State health officials visited the funeral home after the bodies were found to determine whether it was following proper protocols and issued two summonses.
Erin Silk, a spokesperson for the state's health department, said the funeral home has since made alternate arrangements for storing the remains.
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