Puerto Rico's Government Just Admitted 911 People Died After The Hurricane Of "Natural Causes"

[KelleyKramer]

Puerto Rico's Government Just Admitted 911 People Died After The Hurricane — Of "Natural Causes"

The 911 bodies were never physically examined by a medical examiner to determine if they should be included in the official death toll.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/nidhiprakash/puerto-rico-natural-causes?bftw&utm_term=.ncyJQYKo07#.njKr4M6Kxk

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Mourners and cemetery workers in Utuado, Puerto Rico, on Oct. 19.
Mario Tama / Getty Images


The Puerto Rican government told BuzzFeed News Friday that it allowed 911 bodies to be cremated since Hurricane Maria made landfall, and that not one of them were physically examined by a government medical examiner to determine if it should be included in the official death toll. Every one of the 911 died of "natural causes" not related to the devastating storm, said Karixia Ortiz Serrano, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety who is also speaking for the Institute of Forensic Sciences — which is in charge of confirming hurricane deaths. The "natural causes" designations were made by reviewing records, not actually examining the bodies, she said.

The government's revelation comes after BuzzFeed News reported earlier Friday that directors of funeral homes and crematoriums in two municipalities were permitted by the government to burn the bodies of many people the directors thought died as a result of the hurricane — without a government pathologist examining the corpses first to determine if they should be counted in the official death toll. The current death toll stands at 51. Twenty of those official deaths were cremations.

“These reports are extremely troubling — they provide even more reason to be concerned about the accuracy of the information we’re receiving," Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, told BuzzFeed News. "The Trump Administration needs to cooperate with Puerto Rican authorities and provide all the necessary resources to ensure the death toll is accurately counted.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, added, "I intend to take any and all available steps to get to the bottom of the increasing appearance of misinformation in Hurricane Maria recovery efforts." Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló has said that the island's Institute of Forensic Sciences must examine and certify any hurricane-related deaths before they can be included in the death toll.

More at the link

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[Not Ruth]

1. At least 3000 died of natural causes