Julio Alak, mayor of La Plata, presented this Thursday the results of the audit that was carried out in the cemetery, where human remains were found in more than 3,400 consortium bags and 475 coffins stored in non-authorized warehouses. “It is a lack of respect for the deceased, their families and the entire community”declared the official and assured that the bones would correspond to “at least” 13 thousand people.
“Although it is difficult to establish a precise number, it is estimated that the remains correspond to a figure close to 13 thousand people. All crammed into 7 different deposits, none officially designated for that function,” explained the authorities of La Plata in an exhibition that was held in the Golden Hall of the municipality.
As the case quickly led to a presentation to the courts, the presentation was also led by the provincial director of the Registry of Missing Persons of the Ministry of Security of Buenos Aires, Alejandro Incháurregui, known for his experience in tasks of identifying human remains as director of the Argentine Anthropology Team of La Plata.
Among the conclusions reached by those responsible for the technical study, it was highlighted that “the evidence gathered indicates that the accumulation of bone remains in these deposits is due to the lack of available ossuaries; the two existing ones have been saturated for several years.” .
As they explained, the count of 13 thousand bodies was made through the calculation of the coffins found, the bone remains, the bags that had not been torn, and the capacity of the warehouses. “They are full, in some you can’t even go inside. The cameras had to be put through the skylights in the ceiling. There were skeletal remains piled up at 2.20 meters,” they detailed.
Alak commented: “The apathy 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.” When these remains were found, on February 21 of this year, the outgoing administration – Julio Garro’s management – highlighted that the problem preceded them, due to a judicial measure that prevents intervention in the necropolis, “at least since the time of the flood of La Plata”, in 2013.
La Plata Cemetery. “The state of the official entity and the final disposition of the dead is an eloquent and concrete example of the financial and operational breakdown that we received on December 10,” the mayor alleged and announced measures against the current 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,” he pointed out.
Weeks ago, the Executive formalized the call for bids for a new ossuary that will have a budget of $222,849,948.03, with a period of 210 calendar days. According to Alak, the initiative will be awarded on July 2. “We have to aim to normalize the situation as soon as possible and this can never happen again,” said the mayor.
Finally, regarding the judicial action, the mayor was “agreeable” with the actions of the prosecutor, and denied the possibility of filing a criminal complaint against “former officials.” “We denounce facts and not people,” he said. The UFIº15 prosecutor, Cecilia Corfield, is the one who is carrying out the judicial investigation.
