A peaceful funeral took an unexpected turn when a platform suddenly collapsed, trapping the deceased man’s son beneath the coffin and pulling the entire family into the grave. The incident occurred at a burial in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
A man named Benjamin Aviles passed away on March 21 due to health issues and the family was attending his burial. The platform at Greenmount Cemetery gave away and mourners fell into the ground along with the coffin. It was a shocking moment for the family, which onlookers witnessed gasping.
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The incident was recorded on camera. The visuals showed a few people entering the cemetery with the huge coffin and making arrangements to bury Aviles. However, the entire family fell inside when the platform caved.
According to reports, the deceased man’s son got trapped under the father’s casket while the entire family slipped into the grave.
It was learned that the incident took place when the pallbearers were attempting to place the casket into the ground. The platform collapsed, pulling everyone in. Many pallbearers suffered injuries to their legs, hands, and back.
Family blames funeral home
The family blamed the poor condition of the platform alleging the burial facility’s negligence.
“The whole thing was trembling. It was wobbly, the wood was all wet and soaked. I think they should apologise”, Aviles’ stepdaughter, Maribelle Rodriguez, told local media. “There should be some reimbursement, seeing that the ceremony was interrupted. Nothing was done properly”, she expressed further.
