The cemetery in Cu Chi district, HCM City is quiet in the last days of 2021. Located at a corner of the cemetery are the crematoriums and refrigerated storage containers that were set up in late August for those who died from Covid-19. That was when the pandemic was at its peak in the country’s largest city.

Major Dong Anh Tuan, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Gia Dinh Regiment of the Ho Chi Minh City Command, who is head of the special task force at the cemetery in Cu Chi, told VietNamNet that during the epidemic peak, the 12 crematoriums always ran at full capacity. About 60 officers and soldiers worked day and night but could not promptly handle all the cases. They had to put corpses into refrigerated containers.

At present, only several dozen bodies are incinerated here. The number of soldiers has been slashed to 19, said Major Tuan.

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Soldiers wear protective gear to handle a body that has just been brought from the hospital.

The body is carefully disinfected, then put in a coffin for cremation.

The coffin is brought to a crematorium.

The body of an elderly woman who died of Covid-19 is put in a coffin for cremation.

Soldiers carry the coffin to the cremation.

The bodies that have not been cremated will be put into a refrigerated container.

A body is taken from the refrigerated container to the crematorium.

Soldiers say that their job is now less difficult than a few months ago.

"They are young soldiers who have just joined the army but are very enthusiastic and dedicated," Major Dong Anh Tuan said about the soldiers on duty.

Each incinerator can treat each body for an average of 2 hours.

A sheet of paper with the deceased's name is placed in front of the crematorium.

The ashes are put in an urn.

The urns will be handed over to the family of the deceased.

Soldiers carefully write down the names of the deceased and box urns.

After everything is done, soldiers burn incense for the unfortunate victims who died of Covid-19.

During their spare time, soldiers rest or play chess for fun.

Soldier Nguyen Thai Tai says that he has been working here for several months since the pandemic broke out. "I was a little scared at first, but the responsibility of a soldier has helped me overcome difficulties," Tai says.

Tung Tin - Nguyen Son - Thu Anh

Soldiers work hard to keep up with cremations in HCM City

Private First Class Vu Duc Thanh, 19, opens the door of a cold storage unit that holds the bodies of COVID-19 victims, so he and his colleagues can take the next coffin out for cremation in HCM City’s Cu Chi District.