Army trucks filled with bodies drive through Italian streets as crematoriums are overwhelmed

According to the most recent numbers from John Hopkins University, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world has now hit 222,642, with a global death toll of 9,115.

Italy has become one of the worst-hit areas in the world, with 35,713 confirmed cases in the country, and a death toll of 2,978.

Upsetting footage from Bergamo (northeast of Milan), shows a convoy of military trucks driving through the streets overnight, as they transported caskets from the town's funeral services to neighboring cities.

Per the Metro, an army spokesperson confirmed that 15 trucks and 50 soldiers had been deployed to move bodies to neighboring provinces.

Disturbing footage of the trucks can be seen below:

[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/1dEoSw2V-sKUnNGKf.mp4||1dEoSw2V]]

According to the Daily Mail, Italian media said there were roughly 70 caskets in the last night's procession - as the bodies were taken from the crematorium to the highway and out of Bergamo.

The caskets are reported being transported to crematoriums in Modena, Acqui Terme, Domodossola, Parma, Piacenza, and several other cities.

Speaking to The Independent, Lucia Ferrante, a resident of Bergamo said: "Seeing the street behind your house invaded by army vehicles is a sight that is bound to have an effect on you. It's something that makes you realize that things you thought were far away can really happen to you."

On Twitter, many Italians shared pictures of the trucks explaining the desperate situation Bergamo and other areas in the country were facing - as well as warnings to others to heed advice regarding social distancing.

One Twitter user wrote: "These army trucks carry bodies out of the city of Bergamo #Italy, the ground zero of #COVID19 in my home country. To all my contacts: please don't underestimate it and keep #SocialDistancing. #workingfromhome is no fun but we must #FlattenTheCurve".

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ValerioIzzi/status/1240519376505393152]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/andrea_z_/status/1240590370121158657]]

Another wrote: "I’m from Milan downtown, situation is surreal. Nobody on the street and hospitals are collapsing. Yesterday in Bergamo army truck takes away dead bodies as the city can’t handle all of them anymore. We are having 300 dead people every day."

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/STaseershah/status/1240581210428112896]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/gallesearoma/status/1240555128572313601]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/jihwchi/status/1240616426039324673]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/mattia_dacampo/status/1240453687043977216]]

Several other Italian natives shared the images pleading with the world not to assume the COVID-19 outbreak is the "flu".

Yesterday, Sky News reported that the Italian city of Bergamo - one of the worst-hit by the COVID-19 outbreak - was relying on army vehicles to transport its dead out of the city after its crematorium was struggling to cope.

Per Sky News, Giacomo Angeloni, the official in charge of Bergamo’s cemeteries, said: "The crematorium of Bergamo, working at full capacity, 24 hours a day, can cremate 25 dead. It is clear that it could not stand up to the numbers of the past few days."

Per Reuters, Italy recorded its largest ever one-day increase in coronavirus deaths yesterday (March 18), as the total rose by 475 - including more than 300 deaths in the region of Lombardy.

Under Italy's strict lockdown, families have been unable to see their loved ones or hold their funerals, after a decree issued on March 8 effectively introduced measures unprecedented in peacetime, including the suspension of funerals and all religious ceremonies, the Independent reports.