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A new coffin fell from a hearse in broad daylight in Cuba, leaving the body exposed in front of passersby and once again highlighting the collapse of funeral services in the country, which are already suffering from instability and a lack of oversight.
The images, shared on the Facebook profile of the user Irma Lidia Broek and also documented by independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada, show the body lying in the middle of the avenue, as the vehicle's drivers appear to be putting it back into the car.
The impact opened the casket and revealed the body, causing shock among those passing by the location.
So far, the exact location of the incident has not been identified. Beyond the specific point and the exact day of the event, this occurrence adds to a series of similar episodes that have sparked outrage both on and off the island.
The recurring accidents involving funeral cars highlight a funeral system characterized by technical decay, aging vehicles without proper maintenance, faulty gates, and improvised practices such as transporting more than one coffin in vehicles designed for only one.
Several commentators also reported that the lack of basic resources, including wood and nails, worsens the conditions under which coffins are built and transported.
The dropping of the coffin and the exposure of the body rekindle the debate about the disrespect for human dignity even after death.
According to Mayeta, this new case highlights the structural precariousness of the sector and the institutional neglect faced by families in their final farewell.
As anger grows, this new incident highlights the crisis of the funeral system in Cuba, another symptom of the overall deterioration of public services, where even the dead find no peace.
At the end of June, a hearse dropped a coffin in the middle of the street during the transfer of a deceased person in Sancti Spíritus, after which several family members were forced to pick up the casket from the ground and carry it again by hand along the sidewalk.
In May 2024, another coffin fell from a funeral vehicle on the central Victoriano Garzón Avenue in Santiago de Cuba, lying in the middle of a busy road.
Days later, the unfortunate scene was repeated, this time on 4th Street in the Santiago neighborhood of Mariana de la Torre.
In January 2025, in Consolación del Sur, Pinar del Río, a group of Cubans had to carry a coffin with their hands and walk to the cemetery due to the absence of a hearse.
Recently, a man died in broad daylight in Centro Habana, just a few meters from the Parque de la Fraternidad, and his body remained visible for hours to passersby and police, with no attempts made by the authorities to cover or remove it.
The lifeless body of a young man was found on Tuesday, October 21, in Zone 7 of the Alamar neighborhood, in the municipality of East Havana.
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