Pallbearers fall into burial hole after grave platform collapses

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) – Pallbearers fell into their loved one’s grave while carrying his casket at a cemetery in Philadelphia.

The incident was caught on camera.

Pallbearers are seen carrying the casket of Benjamin Aviles, slowly making their way through Greenmount Cemetery in north Philadelphia last week.

As they put down the casket, the wood platform above the burial site collapses, sending the pallbearers and the casket tumbling into the grave.

Aviles’ stepdaughter Maribelle Rodriguez said she couldn’t believe what happened.

“It was just a horrible incident that happened at a bad moment,” she said.

Family and friends rushed to help the men climb out of the grave, some of whom were trapped underneath the weight of the casket. Alives’ son suffered the worst of the injures, Rodriguez said.

“The casket laid on top of him, and he was out like a light. His face was in the mud. They all got injured. They got hand and leg and back injuries. We were just covered in mud,” she said.

Rodriguez and her family blame Greenmount Cemetery for what they say was subpar conditions for a burial.

“The whole thing was trembling, it was like wobbly, it was unstable, it was all wet and soaked,” Rodriguez said of the wood platform above the grave.

Aviles was eventually laid to rest, but the family wants an apology and a refund.

“I think they should apologize. I think there should be some reimbursement being that the ceremony was interrupted, nothing was done properly,” Rodriguez said.

The funeral home and cemetery had no comment for a local news station. Meanwhile, it seems none of the pallbearers’ injuries are considered serious, and everyone involved is expected to be OK.