A funeral home has apologized after a body fell from a hearse into traffic.
Hades Funeral Service, in Stalowa Wola, southeastern Poland, was transporting the body when a ‘technical fault’ in the vehicle’s lock caused the body to fall unexpectedly.
Polish media reported that a man driving down the street thought he had hit someone after seeing a body in the road.
Meanwhile, local media have widely broadcast an image of the body lying on a pedestrian crossing where he had fallen.
Hades Funeral Service has since posted a statement on its website to apologize for the incident.
In the photo, the body is lying on a white-striped pedestrian crossing, where it had fallen from the hearse.
The Hades funeral service, in Stalowa Wola, southeastern Poland, blamed a ‘technical failure’ on the vehicle lock
It says: “It is with deep regret that we inform you that, as a result of an unexpected technical failure of the electric tailgate latch of the hearse, an unfortunate incident occurred during the transport of the body of a deceased person, which does not reflect the high standards of our company.
‘We admit our mistake and assume full responsibility for what happened.
‘Our thoughts are with the family of the deceased, who we informed immediately following the incident.
‘We remain in constant contact with the family of the deceased, offering them all possible support.
‘Our most important goal is to help families through the most difficult times in their lives, and this situation is deeply moving for us and our entire team is deeply affected by it.
“We will do everything we can to ensure that this type of incident does not happen again in the future.”
The company also said the hearse was driven by an experienced employee who had several years of experience.
They also said they wanted to apologize to anyone who was upset by the incident.
“We have taken immediate steps to ensure this does not happen again,” the statement added, “including a full technical inspection of our vehicles and additional training for our staff.”