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Madrid Turns its Ice Rink into a Funeral Parlour Due to the Saturation of its Municipal Services

23 March 2020 – Brainsre.news

In collaboration with the Emergency Military Unit (UME), the Community of Madrid is converting the ice rink in the Palacio de Hielo shopping centre into a makeshift morgue due to the saturation of the crematoriums and following the mayoral decree to close the municipal funeral parlour.

The concession company that operates the Palacio de Hielo has ceded its facilities to house the corpses of those killed by Covid-19 until the funeral homes are able to take care of them, municipal sources have reported.

In collaboration with the Emergency Military Unit (UME), the Community of Madrid is going to convert the capital’s ice rink into a morgue due to the saturation of the crematoriums and the closure of the municipal funeral parlour, as decreed by the mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida. The ice rink will house bodies until the system has been decongested and it will guarantee the supply of material for mortuary professionals, for example. Therefore, the Community of Madrid and the UME will be responsible for developing the operating procedure once the installation is ready.

Madrid’s ice rink spans a surface area of 1,800 square metres and is operated by a company called Equidosa on a concession basis.

Original Story: Brainsre.news

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake