Casket Falls into Grave with Pallbearers During Burial at Philadelphia Cemetery (Video)

Pall bearers taking the casket to the Grave

A burial ceremony at Greenmount Cemetery in North Philadelphia took a shocking turn when pallbearers carrying the casket of Benjamin Aviles fell into the grave after the wooden platform above the burial site collapsed.

The incident, which was captured on video, occurred as the pallbearers were carefully lowering the casket. As they stepped onto the platform, it suddenly gave way, sending both the men and the casket tumbling into the open grave.

Aviles’ stepdaughter, Maribelle Rodriguez, described the scene as surreal and traumatic. “It was just a horrible incident that happened at a bad moment,” she said.

Family members and friends rushed to the gravesite to help the pallbearers, some of whom were pinned under the weight of the casket. Rodriguez noted that Aviles’ son sustained the worst injuries in the fall.

“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 believe the cemetery’s burial setup was unsafe and contributed to the accident. “The whole thing was trembling, it was like wobbly, it was unstable, it was all wet and soaked,” she said, referring to the condition of the wooden platform over the grave.

Despite the distressing turn of events, Aviles was eventually laid to rest. However, the family is now calling for accountability from the cemetery and funeral home, demanding an apology and reimbursement for the disrupted service.

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

Although the funeral home and cemetery have not offered a public statement, none of the pallbearers’ injuries are believed to be serious, and everyone involved is expected to recover.