At least 40 bodies of suspected Covid-19 victims found on Ganges river banks in India

Media reports are saying that the bodies have been in the water for several days.

Syahindah Ishak | May 11, 2021, 11:51 AM

At least 40 bodies of suspected Covid-19 victims have been found on the banks of the Ganges river in India's Buxar district in Bihar, according to the BBC.

Bodies found in river

Media reports quoted local official Ashok Kumar, who corroborated social media posts on the discovery of the bodies.

Kumar said, as reported by India's NDTV news channel, that the number of bodies in the river could be as close to 100.

Another local official, KK Upadhyay, told NDTV that the bodies appear to be bloated and have been in the water for several days.

Other media reports also claimed that some bodies were partially burnt.

According to Times of IndiaBuxar's local administration claimed that the bodies had come from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

The Ganges river flows through the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, before emptying out into the Bay of Bengal.

Investigations are being carried out to find out where the bodies came from.

Officials have been directed to dispose of the bodies, either by burying or cremating them.

Covid-19 numbers in India

On May 10, India reported 3,66,317 new Covid-19 cases.

As many as 3,747 new deaths were also reported, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 2,46,146.

Top photo from Getty Images.