Spiraling criminal violence causes morgue to overflow, foul odors to spread in Ecuadorian city
BY GONZALO SOLANO
Updated 9:35 PM CDT, June 13, 2024
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Spiraling criminal violence in one of Ecuador’s most dangerous cities caused a buildup of unidentified and unclaimed bodies that exceeded the capacity of Guayaquil’s main morgue, officials confirmed Thursday.
The government of Guayas, the province of which Guayaquil is the capital, said Thursday afternoon in a statement that “the problem that has arisen in recent days in the morgue” has been resolved, its first acknowledgment the problem existed in the first place.
Local television and media reports had said about 200 bodies in excess of the Forensic Medicine Service morgue’s capacity had accumulated and a refrigeration unit used to store them had failed, causing nearby residents to complain of foul odors.
Ecuadorian media outlets Ecuavisa and Teleamazonas broadcast images taken with drones showing morgue workers removing bodies from a refrigerated container and spraying the container’s entrance with a product the outlets said was meant to neutralize the putrid liquids seeping out of it.
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https://apnews.com/article/ecuador-morgue-bodies-guayaquil-odors-b797b631fc6dcce3762b9f4efa685d83