Polish funeral home apologises after corpse falls out of hearse into traffic

A funeral home in Poland has been forced to apologise after a corpse fell out of a hearse into traffic.

Hades Funeral Services, the company transferring the corpse in the city of Stalowa Wola in south eastern Poland, said the incident was caused by an “unexpected technical failure” involving the vehicle’s lock.

A man driving on Friday in Stalowa Wola first noticed a sheet on his car window before realising a body was lying on the road after the sheet slid down, according to reports in local media.

Polish media reported the driver briefly worried he had hit the person. Local press published an image of the corpse lying on a white striped pedestrian crossing where it had tumbled out of the hearse.

In a statement on their website shared on Saturday, Hades Funeral Services said: “It is with deep regret that we inform you that as a result of an unexpected technical failure of the electric tailgate lock in the hearse, during the transport of the body of the deceased, an unfortunate event occurred”.

The funeral company said the incident “does not reflect the high standards of our company, our deep empathy towards the families of the deceased, and the respect we always show to the deceased” as they apologised to “all those who were disappointed and upset by this event.”

Additional reporting by Associated Press