André Williams, STAR Writer

Up to press time last night, there was still no word from funeral directors if all bodies that were being processed at the funeral parlours on Orange Street in Kingston had been accounted for following yesterday's early morning inferno.

About 2:50 a.m., fire personnel were called to the fire which engulfed three funeral parlours.

Adjoining establishments, Norman Funeral Service, Twilight and Davis funeral homes, were reportedly destroyed while House of Love was partially burned.

Burnt bodies

Fire personnel and at least one funeral parlour owner who were quick on the scene feverishly tried to remove the burnt bodies and locate others. Caskets, documents and furniture were also destroyed.

A witness said: "A town mi a come from and mi see people a run wid dead body. All the fireman dem busy a lift casket while dem a fight di blaze. Me hear dem a say some bodies can't find because di blaze too big. A wah kinda sign dat all di dead still a perish."

The cause of the fire is unknown, however, there have been speculation that arsonists were involved. The extent of the damage has not been ascertained.

Since then, there has been appeals by stakeholders to the Government for urgent intervention in the sector, focusing on the way bodies are processed before they are buried.

Efforts to speak with directors of the affected parlours proved futile yesterday.