Drone Video of Mass Burial at New York's Hart Island Described as Showing Inmates Working Amid Virus Outbreak
A drone video from The Hart Island Project, an advocacy group rallying for the public to visit the mass cemetery on New York’s Hart Island, was described as showing inmates burying bodies, en masse, on April 2, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The video shows wooden coffins inside mass graves on the island, which has been used as New York’s public cemetery for decades. Inmates and a police bus can be seen in the video, as former inmate Vincent Mingalone narrated the footage, describing his time on the burial detail. Mingalone can be heard in the video saying he was serving six months at Rikers Island for disobeying a court order before his release on February 18.
In the video, Mingalone said the prison only enlisted the help of inmates to bury bodies on Thursdays, and the Thursday burials ranged from 11 to 24 bodies per trip. Melinda Hunt, the Hart Island Project board president, told reporters 23 bodies were buried on Thursday, April 2.
Mingalone said he would work on the truck unloading coffins and his job was to write the name of the deceased on the outside of the coffin and map the plot. He would then pass the body to three inmates, who would pass it to three inmates “inside the pit”, the burial location. Each coffin would be stacked three high, and they would “continue the process until the truck was empty.”
Once the coffins were placed in the grave, they would pack the coffins with sand and soil, and “we would leave the pit until next week’s burial.”
“I must say, we did take pride in what we did and we knew we were the only ones there for these people and you know, it’s just always intriguing that there’s so many stories, like we didn’t know this person, we didn’t see this person, they’re inside of a box. All we know is a name and date of death, but we always wondered if this person serve me coffee, was this person a janitor in a building, or what did this person do in life that they ultimately wound up here alone? We did the best we could with dignity and we handled the bodies carefully,” he said in the video.
According to reports, prisoners were offered $6 per hour to perform the burials and given personal protective equipment (PPE). The offer was made to those prisoners with convictions, and not to those awaiting trial, the report said. Mingalone can be heard in the video expressing concern about the lack of available workers, considering some New York prisons or jails are releasing prisoners amid the outbreak.
The Hart Island Project posted the footage and had shared similar footage in the past in an effort to encourage the public to visit the island, which in November became accessible parkland.
Hart told Storyful: “Hart Island is a beautiful location and the burials are conducted with respect. I do not think New Yorkers should fear Hart Island burials. The Parks Department will restore the landscape and it will be one of our most beloved parks.”
On Tuesday, April 7, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said 731 people died in the city since Monday, April 6. New York City has been declared an epicenter of the virus. Credit: The Hart Island Project via Storyful
相關影片推薦
- 1:582024環球小姐取消年齡上限 阿根廷60歲佳麗驚歎出線 爭取為國爭光Yahoo 國際通81,807 次觀看・18 小時前
- 1:38西澳再發生鯨魚大規模擱淺 直擊140頭鯨魚海灘掙扎求生、26頭已死亡Yahoo 國際通40,317 次觀看・1 天前
- 1:33日本明星公河馬是「女兒身」 天王寺動物園養七年才發現Yahoo 國際通33,690 次觀看・1 天前
- 0:28荃灣華人永遠墳場護土牆倒塌now.com 影音新聞363 次觀看・7 小時前
- 2:44北京電動車展登場 中國品牌「內卷」大戰 117款新車首度亮相Yahoo 國際通17,489 次觀看・13 小時前
- 1:53黃昏天氣節目(04月26日下午6時) - 科學主任張佳駿香港天文台1,331 次觀看・8 小時前
- 0:40公立醫院去年第四季呈報11宗醫療風險警示事件now.com 影音新聞3,267 次觀看・6 小時前
- 0:35警方4月檢市值3800萬元毒品 拘50男11女now.com 影音新聞36,330 次觀看・12 小時前
- 0:40北約秘書長體親身驗歐洲戰鬥機Newsvia1,916 次觀看・4 小時前
- 0:36沙田T4主幹路造價降至約68億元now.com 影音新聞492 次觀看・6 小時前
熱門必看
- 4:48謝雅兒《填詞魂》|Yahoo Lunch KYahoo OMG Videos62,560 次觀看・1 天前
- 4:21謝雅兒 X 吳嘉禧Cheronna《路徑》(原唱:雷同二友)|Yahoo Lunch KYahoo OMG Videos13,174 次觀看・1 天前
- 4:37謝雅兒《某種老朋友》(原唱:林家謙)|Yahoo Lunch KYahoo OMG Videos14,058 次觀看・1 天前
- 【Yahoo Lunch K】《填詞L》謝雅兒靠堅持奪金像獎「最佳電影原創歌曲」 親臨分享內心「填詞魂」Yahoo LIVE HK25,959 次觀看・1 天前
- 1:07自助餐優惠|實測九龍海逸君綽酒店全新櫻花自助餐!79折起任食炆鮑魚/三文魚籽/薑蔥炒龍蝦(有片)Yahoo Video HK92,827 次觀看・1 天前