(80) Katrina Victims Are Buried, 3 Years After

Source: CBS News/AP
Nearly 80 Bodies Entombed In Memorial To Be Dedicated On Anniversary Of 2005 Storm

(CBS/AP) The unclaimed bodies of close to 80 victims of Hurricane Katrina have finally been entombed - nearly three years after the storm - by a group of funeral home owners who said they took it upon themselves to inter the remains because they felt the city and coroner's office were too slow to do so.

Workers scrambled to complete the memorial by Friday's third anniversary of the storm on what was vacant land just five weeks ago. Six mausoleums make up part of the memorial located at the end of a historic streetcar line.

Many believed the fatigued city would have no place to inter the 85 bodies. The city coroner, already grappling with one of the nation's worst murder rates, was placed in charge of the $1.2 million effort last year and progress was slow. The inactivity was seen as another example of the sluggish climate that has characterized the city's rebuilding from the 2005 storm that killed 1,600 people, half of whom were at least 75 years old, according to a new report.

C.C. Johnson, a mortician at Littlejohn Funeral Home, said the remains were entombed Thursday.
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