MADRID (AP) - Spanish authorities say that they will attempt the exhumation of some of the thousands of people buried on the site of a grandiose mausoleum where the remains of dictator Gen. Francisco Franco were held until last month.
Spain’s National Patrimony Authority said Wednesday that it had told 31 families who had requested the exhumation of their loved ones that it would proceed to open the crypts where they are believed to be held to examine their condition.
The bodies are among the 34,000 victims of the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War which were buried on the site of the Valley of the Fallen mausoleum.
The mausoleum was carved out of a mountainside using convicts as part of the workforce, including political prisoners under Franco.
Spain’s Socialist government exhumed Franco’s remains three weeks ago.
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