Birmingham Airport could become coronavirus mortuary for up to 12,000 bodies
A hangar at Birmingham airport is being converted into a temporary mortuary in preparation for thousands of corpses.
The airport site is situated next door to a temporary hospital for 5,000 coronavirus patients being constructed inside the Birmingham NEC.
It was reported that the airport mortuary will provide space for 1,500 bodies initially but that capacity can be increased.
The death toll in the UK from the coronavirus pandemic rose by 181 to 759 on Thursday, the single biggest increase in daily victims since the outbreak began. The death toll is expected to rise rapidly in the coming days. Birmingham currently has the highest concentration of cases outside London.
Authorities are also building a temporary 5,000-bed hospital at the ExCel Centre in east London (see video below), with two mortuaries attached, and a temporary hospital for 1,000 beds at Manchester Central Convention Centre. It will also have a mortuary on site.
The military have been drafted in to build the makeshift hospitals and mortuaries.
The Ministry of Defence has established a 20,000-strong Covid Support Force to deal with the crisis, with the majority of troops coming from logistic and medical units of the Army's 101 Logistic Brigade.
A Birmingham Airport spokesman said: "Birmingham Airport can confirm that it is working with the authorities to provide land and a hangar for a temporary mortuary site at the Elmdon side of Birmingham Airport, to support with the Covid-19 pandemic.
"This mortuary is anticipated to accommodate the deceased from across the region, including those not related to Coronavirus. Birmingham Airport will do its utmost to support this multi-agency response during these difficult times."
Lieutenant General Tyrone Urch, the head of the Standing Joint Command, said: "My team and I will ensure that they are on task 24/7 across the UK for as long as is necessary to support the government and our NHS as they respond to this national crisis."
