City of Exeter Plans to Store Swine Flu Bodies in Catacombs

Filed under Preparations |

The city of Exeter in the UK has announced it will store the dead bodies of swine flu victims in the city's 19th century underground catacombs if "the need should arise."

A council spokesman said the plan could be put into operation if the cemeteries and the crematorium could not keep up with funeral demands.

He said: "We have some empty catacombs in an old cemetery in the city. These are 19th century underground burial chambers which are normally a tourist attraction," he said.

"They can, however, be safely used for their original purpose and allow us to temporarily store bodies in the remote possibility that the need should arise."