Whitey Ford
03-13-2020, 03:53 PM
Iran's coronavirus burial pits are so vast they're visible from space
https://i.imgur.com/KwAKzU7.jpg
Two days after Iran declared its first cases of the novel coronavirus - in what would become one of the largest outbreaks of the illness outside of China - evidence of unusual activity appeared at a cemetery near where the infections emerged.
At the Behesht-e Masoumeh complex in Qom, about 80 miles south of Tehran, the excavation of a new section of the graveyard began as early as Feb. 21, satellite images show, and then rapidly expanded as the virus spread. By the end of the month, two large trenches - their lengths totaling 100 yards - were visible at the site from space.
In Qom, the spiritual center of Iran's ruling Shiite clerics, more than 846 people have contracted the virus, officials say. Iran's government has not released an official death toll for Qom, however, where about 1.2 million people live. But videos, satellite images and other open-source data from the cemetery - a vast complex six miles north of the city center - suggest that the number of people struck down by the virus there is significantly higher than the official figure.
A senior imagery analyst at Maxar Technologies in Colorado said the size of the trenches and the speed with which they were excavated together mark a clear departure from past burial practices involving individual and family plots at the site. In addition to satellite imagery, videos posted on social media from the cemetery show the extended rows of graves at Behesht-e Masoumeh and say they are meant for coronavirus victims.
The imagery analyst, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of his work, also pointed to an image showing what appears to be a large white pile of lime, which can be used to manage decay and odor in mass graves. Iranian health officials have in recent weeks confirmed the use of lime when burying coronavirus victims.
https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Iran-s-coronavirus-burial-pits-are-so-vast-15125717.php
https://i.imgur.com/KwAKzU7.jpg
Two days after Iran declared its first cases of the novel coronavirus - in what would become one of the largest outbreaks of the illness outside of China - evidence of unusual activity appeared at a cemetery near where the infections emerged.
At the Behesht-e Masoumeh complex in Qom, about 80 miles south of Tehran, the excavation of a new section of the graveyard began as early as Feb. 21, satellite images show, and then rapidly expanded as the virus spread. By the end of the month, two large trenches - their lengths totaling 100 yards - were visible at the site from space.
In Qom, the spiritual center of Iran's ruling Shiite clerics, more than 846 people have contracted the virus, officials say. Iran's government has not released an official death toll for Qom, however, where about 1.2 million people live. But videos, satellite images and other open-source data from the cemetery - a vast complex six miles north of the city center - suggest that the number of people struck down by the virus there is significantly higher than the official figure.
A senior imagery analyst at Maxar Technologies in Colorado said the size of the trenches and the speed with which they were excavated together mark a clear departure from past burial practices involving individual and family plots at the site. In addition to satellite imagery, videos posted on social media from the cemetery show the extended rows of graves at Behesht-e Masoumeh and say they are meant for coronavirus victims.
The imagery analyst, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of his work, also pointed to an image showing what appears to be a large white pile of lime, which can be used to manage decay and odor in mass graves. Iranian health officials have in recent weeks confirmed the use of lime when burying coronavirus victims.
https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Iran-s-coronavirus-burial-pits-are-so-vast-15125717.php