With severe criticism of the management of his predecessor, the mayor of La Plata, Julio Alak (UxP) confirmed this Thursday that the bone remains dumped in several departments of the cemetery and found last February would correspond to “at least” 13 thousand people who were not buried properly.
The communal chief presented the final results of an audit that was carried out in the necropolis after four months ago they found more than 470 coffins and almost 3,000 waste bags filled with human bones in a “dire” state as reported at the time.
“Although it is difficult to establish a precise number, it is estimated that the remains correspond to a figure close to 13,000 people. All crowded in 7 different depositsnone officially designated for this function,” explained the authorities of La Plata in the exhibition that was held in the Golden Room of the Municipality.
Among the conclusions reached by those responsible for the technical study, it was revealed that “the evidence gathered indicates that the accumulation of bone remains in these deposits is due to the lack of available ossuariesthe two existing ones have been saturated for several years.
When the macabre discovery became known, Alak asked the La Plata Justice Department to intervene. An investigation was initiated in the criminal court and the intervention of the forensic anthropologist and Buenos Aires official Alejandro Icháurregui, who works in the Ministry of Security, was also requested. He was in charge of an investigation that sought to identify the remains. Incháurregui is known for his experience in tasks of identifying human remains as director of the Argentine Anthropology Team of La Plata (EAAF).
“The negligence with which the Municipality of La Plata has handled the administration of the cemetery in the past is a lack of respect for the deceased, their families and the entire community,” said the mayor, former Minister of Justice of the Nation and Province.
Until December of last year, the administration of the capital of Buenos Aires was in charge of Julio Garro (Juntos por el Cambio), who remained for two terms. Officials of the previous government argued that the sites where the bone remains were abandoned They were “closed” by Justicesince the flood of 2013 was recorded. At that time, an investigation was carried out to determine the final death toll from that climatic tragedy. And among the suspicions that arose was the possibility that bodies had been hidden in the cemetery.
Now, Alak considered that “the state of the official entity and the final disposition of the dead is a eloquent and concrete example of the financial and operational breakdown which we received on December 10th.” And he announced measures aimed at regularizing the situation.
“We are going to promote the process of reburial of the remains, a new regulation that regulates the cemetery, a plan to enhance the space, which includes the Construction of a new ossuary and the creation of a special administrative unit for its administration,” listed the communal chief.
Following the findings this summer, on February 21, 2024, the mayor reported the situation to the on-duty prosecutor of the Attorney General’s Office of the Judiciary.
Since then, the team led by Incháurregui has carried out work that seeks to clarify the origin of the irregularities and seeks to confirm the identity and origin of the remains. The task will take several months, the municipality announced.
